Redemption
by Girl in Blue
Summary: “You’re becoming him.” She realized.“Take your hands off me or you lose them.” Danny gripped her wrists very hard, not even caring about her broken bone. Sam did her best to not flinch under his hard touch, but the pain brought tears to her eyes. DxS.
1. Chapter 1

**Redemption**

At Clockwork's Tower, inside a timeless zone, Dan Phantom was finally able to burst the infuriating Fenton thermos open, the object had trapped him inside for more than three years if you counted using an ordinary timeline.

He put both his feet on the ground, in the old and greenish tower and enjoyed his first moments of freedom by stretching his sore muscles and cracking his knuckes that so badly wanted a revenge from the pest that was his younger self.

He looked around and found no resistance. Clockwork wasn't anywhere to be seen and his guards had completely vanished. For a moment he wondered if it was intentional that he was left alone at the time he was going to escape.

_"No, please don't do it... please..."_

Dan Phantom looked around and found the object that showed the future to Clockwork, the sphere that could bring and take someone to the future. He frowned when he recognized the girl's voice pleading between sobs for the mercy of her assalter.

Sam was pressed up against a dirty wall, her lips were bleeding and her wrist was broken. The person, that from the angle of the point of view wouldn't allow to be seen, covered her completely with his body, assalting her in the worst way possible for a girl. Sam's screams filled the room and Dan looked away from the screen, horrified.

Since he had become a full ghost, he had never felt anything close to panic before, nothing close to feelings other than the joy of destruction. But deep down his mind he had just sightly remembered how pleasant Sam's smile had been... and somebody was taking her smile from her beautiful lips with a cruelty he'd never have in himself.

Was he getting weaker? Was his human emotions returning or was it just a small remembrance from his long lost past? Sam gave out another painful scream and Dan looked at the screen again. There, he saw as blood dripped from her legs to the ground, making her even weaker to resist any longer. Her eyelids closed and Dan could _feel_ it when she died.

There was a small throb in his heart. He remembered how he was broken when she along with Tucker and his family died in the explosion.

The memories... were returning to him.

Her smile.

Her voice.

The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was mad at him.

He was taken by a sudden fury. Whoever that bastard was he was going to die slow and painfully. Dan just had to realize how to go to the past and stop that from happening.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny admired his best friend as she walked down to her locker in school. It was amazing how his best friend had developed into the most beautiful girl in Casper High in their Senior year and still was oblivious about it. He couldn't understand why she didn't hear boys whistling and sighing wherever she passed by or why suddenly so many people wanted her help with homework.

He sighed, Sam had been in a terrible mood (and he knew it was THAT time of the month, he had to learn to count the days if he wanted to live. He had to know when to be careful and soft around her.) Actually, she had been in a bad mood since a month ago when...

_Danny was telling Tucker how cute Paulina looked in her new pink skirt and Tucker was busy taking pictures with his PDA for safe-keeping. Sam was being ignored and was ignoring them as well that is, until something completely out of the blue happened. _

_A cockroach landed on her food. _

_Before Danny and Tucker realized what was happening, Sam jumped out of her seat, screaming her lungs out and ran out of the cafeteria faster than Danny could ever be in his ghost form. Both Danny and Tucker stared at the inoffensive cockroach and glared at each other before they started laughing. _

"_Can you believe it? Sam's afraid of insects!" Danny laughed. _

"_I don't think she wants to save these animals!" Tucker could barely breathe between laughs. "I think we better go find her, dude, she must be crawling into some wall." _

_Danny and Tucker stood up since they had already finished their lunch and walked calmly towards the nearest girl bathroom. _

"_Sam, are you in there?" Danny asked, knocking on the door. _

"_Get out of here!" They heard her yell from inside. _

"_Yep, she's there." Danny sighed. "Now it's more about shame than fear."_

"_Sam, we understand you're scared of insects, you're a girl after all!" Tucker said loudly so that she could hear it. _

"_Yeah, we understand that even if it's still weird because you're a Goth who's supposed to like dark, vicious, coffins, spiders, blood and all that non-girlie stuff." Danny said and the silence followed from inside the bathroom. "I think I shouldn't have pointed that out." _

"_You've never been very good with girls…" Tucker said, bored. "I think it's better if you go inside."_

"_Fine, watch my back." Danny said, going invisible and entering the bathroom. To Danny's surprise Sam wasn't angry that he had followed her inside, she was crying! "Sam! Whoa! Why are you crying girl?" Of course, Danny was a boy and he was dense (not to mention clueless) and he had never seem Sam cry before. "It's just a small cockroach, there's no need to cry!"_

"_It's not about the cockroach, Danny!" Sam cried out, covering her wet face with her hands. "Ok, I have a small fear of insects, so what?"_

"_That's what I'm telling, you, so what? You're a girl, that's normal!" Danny said, not noticing that he was brushing it on her face. _

"_Yes, you stupid ghost-head, I am a girl! I can cry out my frustration if I want, why are you trying to cheer me up in the first place? I've just made a fool out of myself in the cafeteria and now everybody thinks I'm not as tough as I act like so can you please leave me alone to cry my ruined reputation!" She freaked out, screaming all this in one single breathe. _

"_Sam, calm down, it's not a big deal." Danny put a hand on her shoulder, but she angrily brushed it away. Was her mood was swinging so much… 'uh-oh… mood swings? Does it mean she's-'_

"_I wonder why I am friends with two guys in the first place! If I'm so girly and that's so understandable why don't you act like I am a girl all times? Why don't you hold the doors open for me?" She screamed, so angrily that Danny feared she was going to pop a vein. "Why do you talk about how pretty Paulina and Valerie are even when I am around? I hate it, you know!" And her fury wave calmed down and with that Sam slipped on the floor sobbing helplessly. _

_Danny couldn't say much more. Actually, he couldn't even move. He wasn't getting out of that bathroom without Sam, but he had no idea how to make her feel better. _

_And then Danny's salvation walked through the door. Jazz had heard the screaming while passing on the hall outside and asked Tucker what was the matter. She immediately got inside, making Tucker hold all her books while she took care of the situation. _

"_Danny, wait outside." Jazz commanded, looking like she knew how to deal with the situation. _

"_I won't. Sam's…"_

"_I said go!" Jazz pushed him out of the bathroom. _

_Danny and Tucker one more time glared each other in confusion. _

"_What was that about, dude?"_

"_Don't even ask."_

"_You two are so dense." Valerie showed up out of nowhere, her arms crossed over her chest. Danny was so worried about Sam that he didn't even think about how cute Valerie looked at that moment. "It's not my place to tell you, but if I were you I'd leave her alone for the next days."_

"_Yep, that's what I feared." Danny said, looking at Tucker who was shivering in fear. Both boys knew that there were certain days of the month that they were risking their lives if they crossed Sam's path._

Danny sighed again and said hello to her after she greeted him. He simply adored her outfit. She had found this new gothic store in the mall and started wearing some new dark clothes. The one she had on that day was Danny's favorite: it was a black lacy transparent shirt with a low top underneath and a small purple skirt that ended mid-tight just two inches before her long black combat booth covered her creamy skin from his sight once more.

Tucker had taken two or three pictures from her when she wasn't looking last time she wore that outfit and Danny asked a copy for his computer... actually... the one she was sitting thoughtfully in class with her legs crossed was his desktop's wallpaper. As much as he liked to imagine the pictures as a friendly souvenier, he knew he enjoyed the view of his matured best friend.

"Where's your girlfriend today?" Sam asked a she opened her locker and Danny leaned around waiting for her.

"She's already in class." Danny answered and Sam smiled.

Valerie had been Danny's girlfriend for two months now. Danny had been courting her for too long and she had always played the difficult girl as if she enjoyed torturing him. And then, miracolously, on the day Sam first appeared in her new clothes and the whole school had their jaws on the ground as she walked by (Danny included), Valerie walked to him sweetly and yanked his head from Sam's figure and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Sam had seen the scene, but she didn't look surprised. She didn't even flinch (or so Tucker had told him afterwards) and continued her way to the classroom. All it took to finally have Valerie as his girlfriend was to make Sam look like a rival to her. And indeed... Danny admitted to himself... she was stunning beautiful. He understood why girls suddenly envied Sam, but Valerie? Did she really see Sam as her rival? Danny almost laughed when he thought that. Sam was his best friend for goodness' sake!

"I wanted to ask you if you and Tucker would join Valerie and I at the Nasty Burger after class." Danny said.

"Sounds good." Sam smiled. "But I'm afraid I have other plans." She grinned happilly and Danny suddenly was very curious to know what could be more important than hang out with her friend.

"Can I know about these plans?" Danny asked quietly, trying to sound as if he wasn't interested.

"I'm going to take my parents to the airport again." She said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm going to spend next weeks taking care of my baby sister." She said, a little frustrated. "My mom is soooo going to hear my protests before she leaves."

'Oh yeah... Sam has a sister now.' Danny thought. He had almost forgotten about it. Sam never mentioned her and Danny only found out when Mister Lancer burst in the classroom three months ago telling Sam to go to the hospital that her mother was delivering.

Really, Danny didn't even know her mother was pregnant again and Sam didn't like to talk about it as if she was still trying to be the only Manson daughter. Her parents had given up on changing Sam's mind after sixteen years trying and then they decided to start again with a new child. Elizabeth Manson was the opposite of her sister in her features. She looked like her father, she was blond and she had blue eyes. She was going to be everything Sam never could.

"You can bring her..." He started saying, but Sam cut him off.

"Danny, she's three months old, I'm not taking her out in the sun. Go and enjoy your week, I'm staying home." She shut her locker angrily and started walking away. "You better go to class, too, the bell is about to ring."

Danny stared at Sam's hips as she walked to class. Suddenly he felt a fire building up inside him as Sam uncounsciously hipnotized him with her swinging hips. Danny felt like finding Valerie and kissing her hungrily the whole period. He really liked Valerie...

He had been so lovesick for Valerie for two years now and when she finally was his he was thinking of his best friend!

'Stop it, Danny. It's Sam you're thinking about! Your best friend, remember? She deserves more respect than that!' He mentally slapped himself.

oOoOoOoOoOo

That same afternoon Sam was watching TV in the living room holding her little sister in her arms, who slept quietly. Sam was in the phone talking with her parents who were currently in the middle of the flight.

"Mom, you should at least have taken Lizzy with you. She's too young for you to go flying around the world without her! She needs to be fed for goodness' sake! And I can't take care of her, I have a life and my tests are approaching you know!"

"Sam dear, there's enough baby food in the fridge, you just ask the nanny to take care of her while you study, you know how important this trip is, sweetie." Mrs. Manson said.

Angrily, Sam turned off the phone without saying goodbye. She adjusted Lizzy in her arms (she had fired the nanny, Sam didn't want Lizzy to grow up a nanny was her mother) and tried to go back watching TV, when the door bell rang. Two seconds later, the butler announced Valerie Grey's arrival.

Both girls couldn't stand each other now, the situation between the girls was worse than it ever was before... at least from what Sam remembered. Valerie entered the room and Sam stood up, holding Lizzy protectively against her bosom.

"I'd appreciate, Manson, if you stayed away from my boyfriend." She said, quietly enough to not wake the baby, but still very angry.

"We're friends and we'll always be, Valerie, you better get used to the idea." Sam said, placing the baby in the crib beside the sofa.

"I'm not asking you to stop being friends with him, I'd just like for you to stop asking him to come here at night when he's supposed to stay with me! " Valerie said, putting her hands on her hips. "He won't stop blabbing about you."

"Oh I see..." Sam said, "Please, Valerie, I have a lot to do, I can't sit here and listen to you telling me to quit my friendship with Danny because you're jealous."

"I can't believe how selfish you are! I can't believe I tried to be friends with you once." Valerie said, ready to strike Sam and Sam arched her chin up defiantly.

Then Valerie turned around and stormed out of the room, not caring if the doors she slammed woke the baby.

Indeed, Sam had called Danny and Tucker over the night before to watch movies, but if Danny didn't call Valerie it was his problem not hers.

"Damn..." Lizzy started crying on her crib. Sam sighed and picked her sister up. "You have a very careless mother, Lizzy, but you'll get used to her."

oOoOoOoOoOo

"I bet I will sleep with Samantha Manson by the end of the term." Dash Baxter said to his jocker friends, in the changing room, after the training.

"She's tough," Kwan laughed "She already refused a date with Jack and he's the only one of us who never got ditched by a girl."

"Yeah..." Jack, laughed as he walked out the shower. "But it doesn't mean she wasn't impressed when I asked her out, she even let me walk her home!"

"Really? Does she live across the cemetery or something?" Kwan asked.

"Not at all, actually I got a picture later that day to show you guys, let me find it, just a second." Jack said, going through his messy locker. Jack liked to take pictures, he wasn't a photographer and didn't understand even the basics of photographing, but he knew how to be a voyer and take the most juicy pictures he proudly showed everybody afterwards. If it wasn't for him nobody would've ever seen all girls naked inside their locker rooms, that picture still hang proudly inside his own locker.

"Anyway," Dash continued. "Manson is hot and if we had known it before she would've been part of the A-list long ago and wouldn't ditch us now."

"Personally, I think she's just a bitch to you." Another guy, Brian, said. "We had lunch at the same period and she let me sit with her to share a ketchup. She was really nice indeed, kept smiling and all."

"Well, you have a record at pestering her best friend, it's no wonder she hates you." Jack said, still looking for the picture in his locker.

"Don't even mention Fenton's name... he's giving me the creeps." Kwan said. "Every time he catches someone staring at her he shoots this hate glance that could kill, I'm serious."

"Fenton is just a little overprotective... besides he's skinny, we could beat him up for good anytime." Dash laughed. "And if she wants to go out with someone he won't stand on the way. Do you remember that Gregor guy? That exchange student?"

"Yeah! You're right!" Brian said. "She totally dated him for a whole week!"

"You guys disgust me sometimes." Victor, the newest member of the A-list said aloud, making all heads turn to him in anger. He was tall and tanned, his hair was blond and he had a body that could beat Dash any day. The only reason why he had been part of the A-list was because he was a teen model for Amity Park Magazine and the girls would melt as he passed by; to have him as a friend was better than have him as an enemy. But sometimes Victor was an annoying git to those self-infatuated boys, he would aways voice reason and decency, bringing some egos down in the process.

"Why?" Kwan asked. "She's a girl and she's hot, we want to at last go out with her."

"Dash was just making a bet he was going to sleep with her as if she was a piece of meat he could have anytime." Victor said, making Dash grown red with anger. "You guys should learn how to treat a lady."

"I found it!" Jack said triumphantly from his locker, holding the picture up and taking all the attention from the room to himself before Dash started a fight with Victor and pityfully lost.

The boys closed around the picture to see where their desired girl's home was and as soon as they looked at the picture they realize that Sam would never seize to amaze them.

Othan than being beautiful, she was filthy rich.

**I was going to wait a few days before posts, but... meh, I better just do it now. Anyway, this first chapter was the introduction of the situation and more plot and development will eventually come. **

**A small preview for the next chapter:**

_** "So... that's your sister." Danny said, jumping on the ground transforming himself back in his human form. He looked closer to the baby with big blue eyes staring back at him as if he was the coolest person she'd ever seen. **_

_** "Yeah, this is Lizzy." Sam said, holding the baby up so he could see her better. "Wanna hold her?"**_

**Don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

Sam was sitting down in the last desk of the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. If this scene was displayed two months ago she'd be exchanging notes with Danny and Tucker and not reading a book she found in the library early that morning trying to hide her face.

Danny and Tucker, her only two best friends in the whole world had found themselves girlfriends and were currently sitting by their sides, making the girls laugh when the teacher wasn't looking. Sam sighed and looked down to her book once more. She had never told them how frustrated she felt to not be able to hang around with them as much as before and still the small time she had with them she goes and ruin it.

The book she had in her hands was just another gothic novel she had found early that morning, every gothic novel was incredibly exciting, with sensual sauce to go with the darkness. Vampires were really sexy creatures... and still to feel attraction to them was a little necrophilic... after all they were dead. Sam shivered. Was she necrophilic?

She hated it. She hated how much she was thinking about _it_ lately. She thought she was stronger than that. She had made herself believe for years that she could control her feelings and desires as easily as she could control her bank account. But lately, just one glance from Danny would set her on fire and at the same time freeze her with the terrible memory of his rejection.

Lately, she could kill for a male hug; she was just longing to feel loved, that was all. She didn't even know how to kiss!

The bell rang and Sam didn't wait for her two best friends, after all they would hang out with their girlfriends before going home and Sam wasn't going to play the third wheel around them. She was the first to exit the classroom and she bumped into someone, making both of them fall on the ground.

She lifted her eyes and saw a boy in front of her, offering to help her up. She accepted his hand and stood up, he was about a foot taller than she was and he had gorgeous green eyes.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault." They said together and then they laughed.

"You're Samantha, right?" The boy asked, helping her pick up her books before the students stepped all over them. Sam noticed several girls passing by them sighing dreamily at the boy.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, picking the books and arching an eyebrow up suspiciously.

"You're kinda hard to not be noticed." He smiled and Sam blushed. What did he mean with that? "Are you feeling okay?" He asked, seeing that she had a small bruise on her arm because of the fall.

"Yeah... it's just a small bruise." She said. "Sorry, what's your name?"

"I'm Victor." He smiled. He was very pleased to know that she had never noticed him before. So she wasn't part of his fan club... great, finally a girl with some brains.

"Well, Victor, thanks for helping me with my books." She said.

"Anytime."

"I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah... see ya, Sam." Victor said, looking at her deeply inside her eyes before returning to the crowd and disapearing among the students.

"So... Victor, hm?" Tucker said from behind her, causing Sam to jump in surprise. She turned around and found Tucker and Danny standing there with their grinning girlfriends.

"Don't be stupid, Tucker, he just helped me to pick up my books." Sam said, looking a little annoyed at his knowing grin. She rolled her eyes and looked at Danny who was staring at the direction Victor had left with an expression that Sam had only seen when she was going out with Gregor.

"Well, whatever, I'll just go home." Sam said, "Have fun."

She didn't wait for Danny to open his mouth to protest or invite her for an afternoon of games, she just turned around and dashed towards the exist as fast as she could.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"_... she's so beautiful."_

Sam was currently laying down on her stomach among flowers in the Park, with a bassinet where her sister was laying down by her side and a scrapbook in front of her. She was drawing a flower, trying to get all the little details next to a sketch of Lizzy, who, in the drawing, was sound asleep. She was happy that today the sun wasn't very hot, that she could take Lizzy out.

She was calmly drawing, her eyelids were getting heavier. She had barely slept the night before. Lizzy had been up all night crying and she didn't want to bother the old butler. Suddenly she felt the air getting colder and immediatelly reached for the bassinet to cover Lizzy... who was laughing softly as she tried to reach a butterfly that had stopped on her nose.

"Babysitting?" Someone asked from behind her and Sam new that voice too well to not even bother turning around. "I thought you didn't need money?"

"Go away, Dash." She sighed, tiredly. She wondered why all of sudden, Dash Baxter was trying to get closer to her. 'Probably to make Paulina jealous.'

"I'm very found of kids." He said, sitting by her side, ripping an innocent flower from the ground and placing it in Sam's hair.

"And you just killed the flower I was drawing." Sam said, sitting up.

"..." Dash sighed, looking away. "I'll never do anything right, will I?"

"Not intentionally." Sam snickered and looked away, deciding that it was time to get Lizzy back home. But the cold air returned and she looked around. There was definitivelly a ghost around. "I'm going home." She said suspiciously looking around. "And you better go, too, Dash."

But before Dash could ask what she meant by that the ground shook slightly by an ecto-energy that had been thrown not very far away from them. Sam held Lizzy against her protectivelly and Dash stepped against a tree, scared.

Danny showed up shooting Skulker furiously and this time he was lucky enough to not have his girlfriend on his tail trying to kill him. Danny had improved a lot his ghost-fighting skills and Sulker was trapped inside the Thermos about one minute later.

He laughed, happy with himself and turned around to go away, but Sam caught his eyes before he could leave. She was staring at him with a smile and with a baby in her arms. Danny had never seen Sam's sister before so he decided that he should be nice and introduce himself to the little infant.

He floated softly above Sam, grinning. Something moved behind her and he saw Dash Baxter standing there, torn in between running away or saving Sam from the horrible ghost presence by attacking him somehow. Danny looked down at Sam again, crossing his arms and posing like a hero.

"Do you, lady, need a ride home?" He asked courtesily, enjoying to see Sam's happy look and Dash's disbelief.

"I'd love to." Sam asked. Danny bent down and picked the bassinet with one hand and held Sam (who was holding Lizzy) firmly against him before flying towards the sky. She didn't even bother to say goodbye to Dash –annoying – Baxter.

Two minutes later, in her balcony, Danny set both Sam and Lizzy down. He had to get going, but the look in Sam's face told him he should stay for a while.

"So... that's your sister." Danny said, jumping on the ground transforming himself back in his human form. He looked closer to the baby with big blue eyes staring back at him as if he was the coolest person she'd ever seen.

"Yeah, this is Lizzy." Sam said, holding the baby up so he could see her better. "Wanna hold her?" But Danny was quickly taken aback, a little worried and shaking his hands in front of him as to defend himself.

"No, no, no, I'm not good with babies, do you remember that flour sack? It was completely destroyed, don't risk a real baby with me." Danny said, stepping back.

"Don't be silly, you just need to be careful." Sam said, sitting on her bed. "Come and sit down." Like a trained puppy, Danny sat down next to her, still nervous. "Now, you put your hand here, to support her back... and here, hold her head up like this." Sam explained, placing the baby on his arms. Lizzy smiled up at him and her small hands grabbed his shirt. "See? She likes you."

"I guess." He blushed. He suddenly felt very awkward to be alone with Sam in her room holding a baby. Sam was really good with children, he noticed. One day she'll be a wonderful mother.

"I'll warm some milk for her." Sam said, standing up. "Hold her a little, will you?" She said quickly before desapeaning through the door.

Danny didn't say a word, he just held Lizzy for five minutes, playing with her little fingers and tickling her softly while she was making little baby noises.

"Are you two having fun?" Sam asked, chuckling softly as she returned to the room.

"I guess." Danny said, smiling up to her. He returned Lizzy to Sam's arms so she could feed the baby. He stood up and Sam sat down on the bed, watching Lizzy as she gladly sucked the milk from the bottle. "You see, I heard Dumpty Humpty will play next weekend and I wondered if you'd like to go."

"I don't know..." She said quietly, not looking at his face. She wanted to go, Dumpty Humpty was her favorite band, but she didn't want to go there with Danny and Tucker with their girlfriends and be left alone while they sucked each other's tonsils.

"It will just be the three of us, I didn't call Valerie and Tucker didn't call Star." Danny said quickly. He knew his best friend too well to know that the reasons why she was ditching them lately was because she was the third wheel. Danny would do the same if he was in her shoes.

"You don't have to cut Valerie out of it just to convince me to go, Danny." Sam said quickly.

"I sort of miss out little group." Danny scratched the back of his head, unsure. Sam looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Really?" She asked quietly trying to not show him how happy she was to hear him say that.

"Yeah." He blushed, wondering if he'd ever act natural around her again. Somehow her eyes were the most precious jewels to him and everything she did looked incredibly sensual.

"So, I think I can leave Lizzy with the butler for one night and go..." She smiled. "I'll see if I can get us VIP tickets."

"Would you do that, Sammy?" He teased her, wearing a puppy dog look and making her stare at him in a threatening way.

"Ooohhh you did not just call me that." She said, pretending to be angry.

"Sammy! Sammy! Sammy!" Danny repeated like a little boy who had just learned a new word. Sam wouldn't put Lizzy down to chase him around the room so he used it in his advantage.

"You're sooo not getting the VIP ticket." Sam said in the end, making Danny stop and look at her pretending to be shocked. He saw that Lizzy had fallen asleep and Sam was placing her carefully in the bassinet.

"You're so mean, Sammy." But that was the wrong time to call her that, Sam already had her arms free and she immediately chased after him around the room. "Ok, sorry!"

"You're going to pay for it, Dannykins!"

Sam was glad she could play with Danny like nothing had ever happened between them. Indeed, nothing had really happened, except him getting a girlfriend and parting his time to spend decent amount of time with both girls.

She attacked him and they both fell on the ground, tickling each other mercifuless. She straddled his lap, pinning him on the floor and poked his ribs, knowing which was his most ticklish spot. Everything was too innocent to her at that moment, like they were three years old, completely unaware of the position they were in and completely enjoying each other's presence as if that was all they needed.

For some reason, Sam's crush on Danny developed into friendly love, or so she believed, she got used to the idea that they'd always be friends and that it was better try not to push their friendship to another level even though her possessive side stabbed her on the back when he glanced at her with his sweet baby blue eyes. She could bear the sight of him kissing another girl, but she wouldn't stand the thought of loosing him forever. She had already risked it once and she wasn't going to do it again.

In the end, somehow, she found out that it didn't hurt that much to see him with somebody else, after all he was smiling all the time, it was hard to be sad when he had such beautiful smile.

In her mind, the only way she could spend more time with her best friend without being the third wheel was if she had someone by her side to distract her when she couldn't see the scene of him and Valerie in front of her.

She wanted to know how it felt like to hold someone, to kiss someone for the longest time, to feel secure in someone's arms and be treated kindly, like a lady, like she mattered. For goodness'sake! She was almost seventeen and she had just been kissed on the lips once and it was with that foney Gregor.

"Sam?" Danny asked quietly. She noticed they had stopped their tickling fight and were just laying there side by side, catching their breaths.

"Yes?"

"Have I said lately that you've become really beautiful?" He asked, she turned to look at his bright red face and felt her own cheeks getting warmer. If he was still single she'd try to kiss him at that moment.

She needed a boyfriend. Badly.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Tickets in the front row!" Danny and Tucker said together, not believing their luck. Sam had held the small surprise until they had to take their seats before the concert began. She grinned happily at them as they looked at the tickets, reading it over and over again.

"Okay, boys, let's go get our seats." She laughed, making her way to the front; their seats were the nearest of the stage. Both Danny and Tucker seemed to be dazzled about the idea of being so close to their idols. "You should close your mouth, you'll catch flies."

"Sam did I ever said you rock out loud? That you're the coolest girl in the whole planet?" Danny said, getting her hands in between his, looking so happy that he was about to burst out of his own body.

"Danny, seriously," Sam grinned, "You guys deserve it." Well, indeed, they didn't deserve it lately, since they wouldn't visit her as much as before, but still it was her fault it was happening, all she needed was a cool boyfriend and she'd be able to hang with them again. They would be three couples hanging out.

"So... do you guys want anything to eat?" Danny asked.

"Oh, I think we can have free cocktail in this VIP area." Sam said, looking around for the trail that carried all the liquors and beverages. "Oh, there it is!" She said, standing up, but as she was about to walk there, she felt Danny tucking her hand gently and making her seat down.

"What do you want? I'll get it for you." He said, standing up. "It's the least I can do."

"Okay." She replied brightly, "Chocolate liquor will be great."

Danny nodded and walked off, leaving her and Tucker alone. Sam grinned as Danny distanced himself from her and Tucker caught that. He laughed, and made Sam look at him, slightly frowning, knowing what was to come.

"You still like him!" Tucker said and it wasn't a question.

"Of course I do, but now just as my best friend." Somehow she needed to believe it herself.

"Of course you do." Tucker replied, sarcastically. "Tell me the truth; that's why you've been avoiding us, you can't stand to see Danny with Valerie."

"I can't stand being the third wheel." Sam said simply. "How do you think I feel and you guys go on making out with your girlfriends as I stupidly stand there?" She answered, looking very uncomfortable to have said all those things.

Tucker didn't answer, he knew Sam had a point, he'd feel the same way. Danny returned with the drinks and sat down next to them, giving Sam the liquor and getting himself and Tucker two cups of beer (no one asked their ages, so there wasn't a problem).

"So what were you two talking about?" Danny asked, sitting down next to Sam.

"Well, just a silly-" But her words were interrupted by the crowd screaming hysterically and the lights going off. The band appeared on the stage, coming out from a giant egg.

During the first songs the public behaved, sitting down in their chairs and cheering as the band jumped up and down the stage. In the band there were two girls and two boys, the vocal boy – Alex – had matured so much during the last years that he was the cover of every teen magazine, and every girl had a secret crush on him.

After forty minutes of concert, people started walking to the front and Sam stood up so she could see the band better, dancing with the songs as if she was completely alone. Danny looked up to her and saw that her skirt was flipping as she danced and he could see a flash of her panties every now and then. Gosh, his best friend had become so hot.

The crowd got more excited and he and Tucker found themselves standing too, so they could live through the commotion. Sam had been carried away by the crowd, she was several feet away from them and because of her height Danny was afraid she'd be crushed. But as he looked above the heads to see her he found her happily dancing as if everything was fine and he sighed in relief.

"_Time goes wherever you are_

_Time is your guiding star_

_That shines through all your life  
Makes you feel and move"_

Then a slow song started and the girls screamed delighted. Alex walked to the edge of the stage and stuck his hand out, teasing the girls. Danny noticed as he saw Sam dancing there, looking like a goddess.

"_My dreams are out in the far  
So are yours a part  
Of secret fairy tales  
Dripped on the wings of a mystery Mill"_

Alex held his hand out for Sam and girls screamed. Sam held his hand and he pulled her up to the stage. Danny couldn't believe it was happening. Alex went down on his knees and sang the song to Sam, holding her hand firmly on his.

"_Windmill, windmill, keep on turning  
Show me the way, Take me today  
Windmill, windmill, hearts are yearning  
Longing for love and a chance to be free"_

Danny was going to make a sarcastic comment with Tucker, but when he looked at his best friend, he saw that Tucker looked as delighted as Sam was up in that stage. It all looked like a little teenage dream.

"_Don't feel alone and depressed  
Someone will come at last  
To soothe your stumbling mind  
To keep it away from the evil storm_

_Windmill, windmill, keep on turning  
Show me the way, Take me today  
Windmill, windmill, hearts are yearning  
Longing for love and a chance to be free."_

Alex stood up and as soon as he finished singing the chorus, Sam stood in the tip of her toes –making people scream and several jaws drop – and kissed him.

When Danny saw that scene, he felt a punch of jealously in the gut, it struck him so hard he forgot how to breath. Alex was kissing back, completely forgetting that he was supposed to sing and the musicians in the background kept going with the song. He put his hands on her hips and she circled her arms around his neck.

When they broke the kiss, Alex didn't put her back in the crowd, he held her and continued singing, their fronts pressing against each other. Sam looked her happiest and Danny was biting his lip until he drew blood.

" _Windmill, windmill, keep on turning  
Show me the way, Take me today  
Windmill, windmill, hearts are yearning  
Longing for love and a chance to be free_

_Time goes wherever you are..."_

The song ended and Sam untangled herself from him, thinking that her little five minutes of glory had come to an end, but then Alex pulled her back and whispered something in her ear before letting her return to her seat, blushing and grinning madly. People clapped as she walked past them and returned to her friends.

Her eyes didn't lock on anyone, they were glassy as if she was still dreaming about the mind-blowing kiss she had just shared. It had been her first tongue-kiss and it had been in front of fifty thousand people.

"Now, that was awesome!" Tucker said, hugging her against him laughing. Danny remained silent. "What did he tell you?"

"He asked me to meet him at the backstage, after the show." She grinned, not believing what had just happened.

"Are you serious?" Tucker asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah! I can't believe it myself!" She squealed like a little girl who had gotten what he wanted for Christmas.

"Are you going there after the show?" Tucker asked.

"Of course I will!" She replied, laughing.

"He just wants to sleep with you." Danny said angrily, finally deciding to speak up, but not doing a very good job at pleasing her with it.

"So what?" She replied simply. "I might want it."

And that shut Danny up for the rest of the concert, thinking that even the front row to watch his favorite band play wouldn't pay the horrible images that displayed on his mind after those cruel words left her sweet little lips; lips whose taste had been poluted by another man's kiss.

To Danny's despair, Sam indeed went to talk to Alex after the show and to his horror she told him to NOT wait up for her and told Tucker, loud enough so he could hear, to make sure Danny wouldn't follow her like he had when she was going out with Gregor.

That night he spent looking at the ceiling of his room, he was awake thinking exactly what Sam was doing with Alex at that time, if she had gone home already or if she was going to spend the night with him. It sounded like something she'd never do in her straight mind, she'd never sleep with someone after just meeting him. He couldn't accept that she was going to let someone else take her innocence from her.

'Damn', he thought, he knew that man was going to hurt her. 'What's wrong with me? She's just my best friend. She can sleep with whoever she wants.' But just as he thought that he was taken by a sudden fury.

If he wasn't the good guy, he would slit Alex's throat open.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Dan Phantom wasn't the good guy and he couldn't bear the hate he felt towards that teen idol that had kissed Sam in the middle of a stadium. He hated that man. He felt like destroying the whole town to take out his anger, but he had more important matters to take care of before he did something stupid.

That teen boy... was he the one that was going to hurt Sam? He watched as Sam willingly went after him after the show. They talked, exchanged endless kisses. Dan noticed something he had never seen in Sam before, not when she was alive in his own timeline. She needed someone with her, she wanted to be kissed, cheerished. She put up the tough Goth façade, but she still needed to be loved, she still had urges that only a male could satiate.

His heart gave out a small, almost unnoticed, painful beat when he saw her smile up to the other man, planning on meeting him someday that same week in a fancy coffee shop.

Dan hated that boy and he wasn't letting him get anywhere near _his Sam_.

**Lol, I totally love Dan. I enjoy writting him a lot. Well, I had to reformat my computer and I forgot to install the English spell-checker so this chapter wasn't fully corrected, like the first one. I'm doing my best to write it as well as I can, since English isn't my first language, but I still think a few typpos might have escaped so... I'm sorry for that. **

**Please review and tell me what you think. You readers know that reviews inspire the author to write faster, don't you?**

**You know you want to review! Just press the button below and do it! Please? And what if I give you a cookie?**

**PS – Reposted an edited version.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

Sam woke up in her bed the morning after the show, remembering how sweet Alex had been to her and that she had a date by the end of the week. Finally someone had asked her out for real! Finally she was feeling attractive!

Then she remembered how upset Danny had been. Seriously, did he expect her to sit around and send her admission to a monastery or something? He had no right to tell her what to do and he couldn't bring her down with a cruel comment such as _He just wants to sleep with you_. Wasn't she good enough to be loved? Did he think all men wanted with her was just a little of fun and no romance at all? Did he think there would be just Gregors in her life? He had said to her there were million reasons a boy could like her so why he wasn't supportive when she had a chance?

Danny could be such jerk sometimes, but still, Sam knew it was just his way to show his concern... and she was glad he cared, because if he didn't care for her, then it would be official that she was someone to be spared in this big world.

'Just forget the depressive thoughts, Sam' She told herself mentally, 'You got a date with the famous, hot and dreamy Alexander O'Ryan.' She stood up and took a hot streamy shower, then she wrapped herself in a towel and went back to her room to pick her outfit for the day when she heard someone inside her room. The freezing temperature made Sam immediately recognize who it was.

"Come out, Danny." She said, in a bored tone. "I know you're here." It took a whole minute for his figure to materialize in front of her.

"Just stopped by to see if I had any visitor in my bed?" She asked, finding out that she was still irritated by his behavior the night before.

"No..." Danny said quietly. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off by walking inside her closet and taking out two gothic dresses. Danny half smiled. She asked his opinion about her clothes every now and then. "The red one." He said.

"Thanks," She replied, stepping inside the closet and closing the door behind her, coming back two minutes later with the dress on and with the wet towels in her hands, she picked her boots and sat on her bed to put them on, just when she finished putting on her socks, Danny's hand laid above hers and she lifted her chin to look at him, wondering why he was so quiet.

"What happened last night?" He asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Nothing." She answered sincerily, she only didn't snap at his question because his concern was frightening her at the moment. "We just kissed and exchanged phone numbers. We're going for a date Friday."

"Sam... have you watched the news this morning?" Danny asked, but it was obvious to him that she hadn't. She shook her head, getting even more worried. She noticed he was too close for her own comfort. He stood up and turned on the TV on the news.

Sam's eyes widened when she watched the reporter start talking about how Dumpty Humpty's vocal had been murdered the night before and found dead in an alley early that morning. She gave out a cry and her eyes filled with tears as she stared at the picture of the only man who seemed to take a genuine interest on her.

Danny's arms wrapped around her, trying to soothe her, he was sitting behind her and she had never noticed he had sat down in the first place. He was rocking with her as she helplessly sobbed her lost lover – one night lover - and eight passionate kisses.

"No... it can't be." She sobbed on his embrace. "Alex... he..." Her voice broke down and she cried out again before continuing. "... he was alive... he liked me..."

"Lots of guys like you, Sammy." Danny said, not noticing that he had just called her by her childhood nickname and she didn't protest.

"I thought it was going to work." She continued sobbing.

It sounded so innocently coming from her that Danny had to bite back a smile. She sounded like a little girl who just found out her fairy tale hadn't come to a happy even after, that she would have to seek for another prince charming to rescue her from the dark chambers of solitude.

She froze when she felt a soft wet kiss on her neck. Danny seemed to freeze up too when he realized what he was doing. He slowly let go of her and she didn't dare to turn around and look into his eyes with her flushed face.

Danny strugged with himself why on earth he had kissed her when she was crying the death of another man. He couldn't get his mouth to mutter an apology, even because he wasn't sorry for kissing her, he was sorry for his wrong timing. 'Way to go, Fenton... you just kissed your best friend... again.'

"I think I'll go for a walk." She said weakly, standing up and feeling oddly heavy. She wanted to avoid his eyes, but he stood up in front of her, ready to walk by her side. So she glanced up into his deep blue globes and said firmly "By myself." He put his hands up, ready to touch her shoulders in a comforting way, but she stepped out of his reach, "I believe you know the way out."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam walked down the street to the park three days later, her goal was the stadium she had last seen Alex perform. She had one dream night... and that was all she was going to get. She wasn't stupid to pine over a teen idol, but damn, he had given her her first tongue-kiss and it had been mind blowing, freaking awesome. It was not like she actually expected to date him for months, but... he was a human being, the first one to whom she had opened her mouth to and now he was dead. Murdered.

She wondered who would do that to someone so young. She had an idea of all types of psychos idols got after them, but still... it sounded so wrong. She hadn't been in school for three days, but the reason wasn't because she was suffering from Alex's death, but she was very confused about what happed in her room with Danny.

She walked by an alley and found herself shivering from cold. She didn't want to face Danny just now. Gosh, what he did was almost cheating on his girlfriend with her – plain, simple Sam – his best friend. He had tried to talk to her, but she ignored his calls and he didn't even try to fly inside her room again.

"Sam?" Someone asked from the dark corner and Sam recognized the voice immediatelly, turning around and rolling her eyes tiredly at Dash Baxter.

"What do you want now, Dash?" She asked impatiently.

"You're not walking with your sister today." He stated the obvious, grinning down at her arrogantly.

"Yeah..." Sam replied. She had almost forgotten about Lizzy! At least the butler would take care of her, but still, Sam was feeling ridiculous because of it.

"That man kissed you the other day..." Dash said, advancing towards her. "A fatal kiss I'd say."

"Dash..." Sam said, taking a step back carefully. She didn't like the way he was looking down at her, she didn't like what he was saying. She never really knew Dash very well, she didn't know what he was capable of and she really didn't like that small snickering look on his face.

"You look scared," He smiled, still advancing towards her. He couldn't believe she was scared of him, did she think he was that bad? "I'm not going to hurt you, I just wanna talk." He said, trying to show her he meant no harm, but still advancing towards her, which was his first mistake.

Sam found herself trapped, her back was against the wall, far away from the sidewalk and Dash was right on her way. If Dash was saying he wasn't going to hurt her, their positions looked like the opposite. She decided to run, she dove under his open arms and ran past him, but he managed to grab her arm and spin her around, she cried in pain feeling his strong grip bruising her wrist.

"Shit, Sam, I just want to talk to you, why are you so scared anyway?"

At that moment, something flashed in front of their eyes and in a blink of an eye Sam saw Dash being smashed against the wall. It wasn't a pretty sight. Her eyes widened when she saw blood spilling and everything went dark afterwards.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam woke up in a dark room which she immediately noticed wasn't hers. She sat up in the bed, it looked sightly old and dusty, as if nobody had slept there for at least five years. She looked around, not remembering how she got there. Her brain somehow shut down from memories about the hours before she blacked out.

"Hello?" She called, climbing out of the bed. She noticed the night table had cookies and a coke can. Whoever's house she was in, he or she, had prepared a warm welcoming... in it's own way. The lights were completely out, what she could barely see from the few holes in the wall that let the sun in, she was in a room that was barely furnished, there was just the bed and the night table. She walked near the closest wall and looked for a switch to turn on the lights, but she was very displeased to see that it wasn't working.

_"You should be in bed."_ A voice... a male voice said.

Sam turned around, scared, looking for the intruder, but she could barely see cross the room.

"Who are you?" She asked, in a mix of fright and comfort, that voice didn't sound dangerous, it was talking calmly to her, meaning no harm. Still, she was very anxious to what he may tell her.

_"My name isn't important_." He said, after a few seconds of hesitation. _"You're safe now, that boy won't bother you for a while."_

"Boy...?" Suddenly, the memories of the previous hours hit her with the strength of a train, cutting the air off her lungs. Dash had been smashed into a wall and there was lots of blood. What did he want to do with her in the first place? And who was this person? Was he the one who hit Dash that badly?

Her hands were shaking, her knees buckled and she sat on the bed with the grace of a sack of potatoes. Was Dash dead? No... the man in the room with her said he wouldn't bother her 'for a while' meaning he wasn't dead... for now. But... who was her savior?

"Why did you help me?" She asked quietly.

_"You needed help."_ He answered in a whisper. Sam shivered, getting the impression that he was very close to her ear. _"And... you're hurt."_

Sam's voice didn't come out, she felt cold fingers trace her shoulder blades and she felt a small stinging sensation. She had a small cut on her shoulder and her wrists were deep blue because of Dash's touches, but nothing serious. She was more distracted by his light touch on her, the tip of his fingers brushed her skin lightly sending shivers down her spine.

The shivers weren't out of fear or out of cold... but it was exciting. She didn't know this man, she didn't know what he was going to do with her, but the fear and the dangerous situation was working in a way that felt completely unnatural. The dangerous situation... a stranger... in a dark room... it felt... beautiful... sexy. Like one of her vampire novels.

The stranger touched her again, this time his fingers brushed her cheeks and then her lips, making her whimper, closing her eyes, trying to brush the humiliating sensation away. She was turned on by a stranger and by a simple touch! How could she?

_"... you've become so beautiful."_ The voice said to itself, Sam doubted he wanted her to hear that, but since she did, she wondered if he knew her and for how long. What they were doing in that small dusty room? Was that... a sexual meeting?

"Do you know me?" She asked quietly. She felt his arms sneaking around her waist and shivering slightly. He had big arms... she could feel muscles, she could feel his hard chest. He felt strangely familiar. There was something she remembered about his touch... as if they had met once upon a dream.

_"Stop asking questions."_ He said and even though it was a command, he said it a gentle way. She thought he was going to damand her to stop speaking, but instead he had asked her. _"The door is unlocked, and it's five steps to your right. If you want to go..."_

But she didn't go and he didn't unwrap his arms from around her. She lost her mind completely. Danny would never hold her like that would he? He'd never feel her up against him like this stranger was feeling her now. All he had in his mind was Valerie, Valerie, VALERIE. He had slept with her, she knew he had, he was talking about it with Tucker when he thought she wasn't around, but little did he know she was just around the corner!

Danny broke her heart in two. Danny didn't want her for who she was, she wasn't attractive to him, but this stranger... he was holding her close in the dark! He couldn't see her and still he said she was beautiful. He was trembling with her. She could feel it that he desired her.

Her hands wandered up and she could feel his chest, his neck, chis chin... his cheeks and she had to stand on her toes to feel his soft hair. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was handsome, he was... perfect. He was perfect and she was so frustrated because Danny and Alex...

She reached up and she could feel his cold breath tingling her lips, he had bent down to meet her and softly, chasely, they kissed. The kiss was as pure as it could be, as a first kiss when two five years old see it in a soap opera and decide to give it a try. His mouth tasted like mint, the same taste of Danny's when they had their last fake out make out two years ago. Oh, she couldn't forget that taste and she couldn't get enough of it right now.

She was the one who deepened the kiss and he followed, as if unsure if he was doing it right. It was adorable and in the dark Sam could imagine his looks, his lost expression and the fire in his eyes. She couldn't comprehend the situation and why she was kissing a stranger; all she knew was that he was so damn addicting, as if she knew him already.

He kissed her back hungrily, finally taking control of the situation and Sam moaned in pleasure. She could picture anyone in his position, she was hotly kissing a faceless man and it felt better than it had with Alex... poor Alex. The man's grip became stronger, he held her around the waist and pulled her up against him until she wasn't touching the floor anymore.

She wrapped her legs around him and her arms around his shoulder. She felt warm, so warm that she was going to explode. There was something tightening in her stomach, there was a burning sensation _down there_. He grabbed her butt and she never thought that such act, which previously she thought completely repulsive and dominating, could feel so right.

He lowered her to the bed and climbed on top of her. She didn't care about what was happening, she didn't think about the possibility of getting pregnant by a stranger or getting diseases. He was her saviour. Nothing bad could come from it. All she knew was that she found something oddly familiar in that body pressing down against hers and it made easier for her to open herself to him and let him take her to the highest degrees of pleasure that she hadn't even dreamed about.

But the pleasure ended too soon, the bliss kept lingering through all her half naked body. He had just taken her panties down and her skirt up, he didn't care about undressing her. He was that desperate and so was she. She had never felt so happy before... so light. His body laid heavily by her side, trying to catch his breath and she couldn't help but reach down and kiss him hotly on the stranger lips. She couldn't believe she had worn him out! She! The old plain Sam Manson was able to drive that strange man insane.

"Are you going to be here tomorrow?" She asked, breaking the kiss.

_"Do you want me to be here?"_ He asked back.

"Yes. I want to meet you again very much." She said, her voice dripping fire in every word.

_"Then I'll be here." _He answered simply, not moving from under her.

She didn't say anything, she just smiled even though he couldn't see her and laughed stupidly, as an idiot who had just fallen in love. She fell in love in the dark! She managed to put her skirt in place, but she didn't even bother looking for her panties. He could keep them as a souvenier if he wanted, she didn't care. Even the bruises he left on her skin felt good.

She walked to the door, opened it, finding a dark corridor outside. She could see a staircase and climbed it down. Three floors down, she had finally seen the daylight, that punished her lavander eyes, bringing her back to the real world.

The real world somehow didn't look that cruel anymore. She looked back and found that she had just exited an abandoned mansion. She mentally noted the address, not that she was going to forget the way to her lover in the shadows, but she wanted to repeat that address in her mind until she got tired of it.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny had just kissed his girlfriend good morning when Tucker found him and dragged him to the side to have a 'man-to-man' chat. For four days none of them could reach Sam by her phone, Alex had died and that morning they found out that Dash had been in a fight and was in coma in the hospital. Everything seemed too dangerous and not finding Sam was scaring them both.

What if there was a serial killer in Amity Park? What if Sam had been his victim?

"I'm scared, Tuck. I had been to her house yesterday past 10pm and she wasn't home! After she kicked me out that day she completely disappeared."

"Well..." Tucker frowned, looked at Danny in reproval, "You did try to kiss her after telling her Alex had died, you deserve to be ignored for a while." He said, but then his expression lightened, becoming anxious "But she never ignored _me_ before."

Surpassing a wave of jealously that invaded him as Tucker said those last words, Danny decided that he was going to alert the police that same day. She could mourn the death of Alex, but missing three days of school because of it wasn't like her at all. She had just gotten one kiss for goodness sake! Danny knew Sam never acted like a lovesick teenager.

"Wow... is that a limo?"

People started to repeat those lines and look at the front of the school, making both Danny and Tucker stop their conversation to see what was going on. To their surprise, Sam climbed out of the limo that had just parked in front of the school.

The students opened a path to let her pass and she didn't look at any of them. The limo took off after she closed the door and she walked into the school. Every eye was glued on her and she obliviously smiled at herself as if she had received the best news in the world.

Danny and Tucker's jaws dropped. Not only Sam was looked stunning that morning, she decided to finally use her limo and let people see she was rich.

"Good morning." She said looking at them, but not really 'seeing' them there. She walked to her locker and opened it, picking her books.

"Good morning!" Danny stormed dangerously towards her. "You disappeared for three days, had us worried sick and now you just say 'good morning' as if we're just your colleagues? What's going on, Sam!" Danny demaned, furiously.

"Nothing, it's just a lovely morning." She said, taking both Tucker and Danny by surprise. She never used the word 'lovely' unless it was sarcasm. Something was seriously wrong with her.

"I knew it!" Tucker smiled at her, suddenly. He had recognized the different atmosphere around her; she had changed the perfume for girls to a perfume for women. Her smile wasn't just content, it showed that she had been satisfied. "You're seeing a boy." Tucker said, making her give him a lop sided grin and making Danny almost choke with his own saliva behind him.

"Nope." She teased, bitting her lower lip to keep herself from bursting with happiness. Danny sighed in relief and Tucker arched an eyebrow. "I don't date boys..." She said, enjoying to see their eyes growing wider. "I'm seeing a man."

And she enjoyed the look on Danny's face that moment.

**You know, it's a little weird that a whole story came out when I watched The Ultimate Enemy again and heard Dan saying he had weak moments. I surely enjoy writting his weak moments now! **

**Review, please! I need reviews to live.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

When Sam entered the dark room she had woken up the previous day, she immediately noticed the difference in there. It was still dark, but it didn't smell old, and the night table wasn't dusty anymore. When she sat on the bed she noticed there were fresh sheets there.

_"So, you really returned."_ The male voice said, sounding surprised. His voice alone made Sam smile. She still tried to remember where she had heard that voice before, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't connect the voice to a face.

"Yeah..." She couldn't believe it herself. Was she really going to start a love affair with a stranger? She couldn't even see his face. He didn't want her to see his face. He wasn't some kind of Phantom of Opera, his face felt perfectly normal under her fingers, but still, what kind of secret was he hiding with his face?

Danny had hate in his eyes when she had said she was seeing someone. She loved that angry look, for a second she had thought his eyes were going to glow green just like they had when he had beaten Ember.

"You won't tell me your name again, will you?" She asked quietly.

_"No."_ He answered, reaching up and touching her cheek, bringing her lips up for a chaste kiss. That man had rough calloused hands and his touch still was soft and gentle, he held her like she was going to break.

She deepened the kiss and when he moved his hand to cup her cheek she opened her eyes lazily, as if under a spell. She could see his eyes for the first time and she almost broke the kiss and stepped back in fear. His eyes were red and it was slowly flashing green. It became greener as he relaxed in her arms.

Sam wasn't dense; she immediately realized those eyes couldn't below to a human even though she was touching a human body. Could he really be a vampire? No... If he was he would've already taken over her mind and body, drinking her blood sensually by biting pleasurably on her neck. Yeah, she knew that much about vampires.

So, if he wasn't a vampire, was it possible that he was a ghost? She was going to break their moment and ask him, but he pressed himself against her even harder and she completely lost her mind, she lost her ability to form words because at that moment all her mouth could do was to kiss him back.

She thought that since they didn't know each other, there wasn't any kind of inhibition, they both could just let go without thinking if the other was uncomfortable. And she loved it like that. He had a power in his touch that slowly consumed her heart and soul. It was like she was becoming one with him. She didn't have to look at his face to know he had the same satisfied smile on his lips as they touched.

She made up her mind that she was going to meet him everyday after school if it was possible and she'd just leave him after the sunset. She didn't want to hang out with Danny or Tucker at the Nasty Burger anymore, she just wanted to ride in the waves of love that man was giving her as many times as possible.

He could be a ghost, he could be a vampire, he could even be a werewolf, and she didn't care. She just wanted to feel complete in his arms, feel what she didn't feel her entire life. If he had put her under a spell she didn't mind.

That felt good.

She had a lover.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny couldn't concentrate on Valerie in front of him on their romantic night out at the Nasty Burger (how could that girl think a fast food restaurant was romantic anyway?), she was blabbing about how she won the last City Karate Tournament. He had asked her to talk about it and now he completely regretted opening his mouth in the first place.

He forced himself to pay attention to his girlfriend, but his thoughts were far away from her, he was thinking about Sam and how different she looked that morning. It was the first time he had seen her in three days and she just said she was dating an older man – worse yet – she looked her happiest.

His stomach sunk when he thought of what that strange man could be doing to her. She was only seventeen, for goodness' sake! It wasn't like he and Valerie, both young and innocent, too shy to even undress with the lights on.

"Val..." Danny said, interrupting her when he noticed the manager glancing at the clock and at them. It was 10pm. Danny was going to miss his curfew and get in real trouble. "Look at the time."

"Oh shit!" She said, standing up. "I missed my curfew!"

"Do you want me to take you home and help you explain?" Danny asked politely, even though the last think he wanted at the moment was to face her father.

"I'd appreciate." She laughed, "but no thanks. I have to run to make it in time and you can't run a whole mile to save your life." She softly kissed him on the lips and they both stood up, leaving the restaurant. "You should work out more often, lazy. See you tomorrow." She kissed him again and ran off.

Danny walked for two minutes down the street until he noticed it was completely deserted. He took his chance to go ghost and fly home. It was a quiet evening and he could hear the owls lazily coming out of their nests and the crickets starting their quiet symphony.

When he was almost arriving at his house he heard rushed steps coming from below him. He looked down and recognized the black haired girl running home. It looked like she missed her curfew, too. Danny frowned. She was running alone in a dark night in the same week a boy had been murdered and another had been sent to the hospital in coma. There was a psycho on the loose and she looked like she didn't care.

Danny landed in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows formed a frown, showing her he was really angry to find her out so late at night. Sam stopped when she saw her best friend in front of her and immediately recognized his attitude; he was ready pick up a fight. He became human again without even checking if it was safe enough.

"What?" She asked exasperated. She had to go home soon. She was afraid Lizzy had woken up and the butler had to take care of her.

Danny didn't answer at first; he noticed several things about her at that moment. Her lips were swollen, her hair was messier than he had even seen, and her clothes were a little torn, as if she had put them on in a hurry and she was sweaty and her scent was mixed with someone else's. And her eyes... they were shinning with happiness.

Was she with that man?!

"It's too dangerous to be out in a time like this." He said, controlling his anger, he knew he had to be soft with her if he wanted her to accept the ride home he was about to offer.

"I don't think so." She said. "There's nothing dangerous in a beautiful night like this." Danny's eyes almost popped out of his face. Was she cheerful? Where had the 'Goth' attitude gone to?!

"Sam..." Danny took a deep breath, trying to swallow his pride and treat the girl like she deserved. "You do realize there have been two crimes in less than five days, right? The city isn't safe anymore. Dash is a hospital bed almost dead."

Sam's eyes widened. She just remembered what happened to Dash. She had been with him when he was smashed against the wall by an invisible force. She remembered his blood splashing everywhere. He had been advancing towards her with a frightening look in his eyes right before the blow.

"I... saw... what happened to Dash." She said quietly, looking at the floor.

"You saw it?!" Danny repeated his eyes wide and his mind completely blank with the sudden revelation.

"He trapped me in an alley." She continued her voice barely above a whisper. "He was advancing toward me and then... he was suddenly smashed against the wall, as if he was hit by an invisible blow." She wrapped her arms around herself and felt tears coming to her eyes. She wished she could forget his eyes and his blood spilling. She almost did when she was with her lover, but now she remembered. It had been a terrible sight. "It happened yesterday morning..."

"He trapped you?! An invisible blow?" Danny felt like a parrot, repeating everything she was saying, but he still couldn't believe what a single word. Why didn't she tell him that before? "Did you see who did that?"

"No." She answered, not looking into his eyes. "But I'm glad he was stopped." She glanced stubbornly up to Danny's scared eyes. "He'd have hurt me. He looked scary."

Danny would've held her at that moment. His eyes softened, but he didn't move from his spot. She smelled like another man, he didn't want to hold her at that moment, he'd feel nauseous.

"You can't be alone right now." Danny said, he could read her distress; he couldn't leave her alone with her thoughts. She was a crime witness now and she might as well be in shock. It would explain her strange behavior whole day. "Come on, I'll walk you home." He said, grabbing her hand and walking side by side until they got to her house. "I'm going to call my parents and stay for the night, okay?" He said softly.

"Why?"

"Because you've just witnessed someone's brain's being smacked out of their head?!" He snapped and mentally he wanted to punch himself for doing that. Her gaze fell on the floor and her mouth twitched, ready to cry. "Shit, sorry, Sam." He said, but unlike the last times when he said he was sorry, he didn't hold her close and little did he know that the fact that he didn't hold her was the reason why she was ready to cry her eyes out.

"Fine, call them." Sam said, opening the front door and stepping inside. "When you're done, find James and tell him to get the guestroom ready. I'll take a shower and check on Lizzy."

She didn't say anything else, she knew Danny was comfortable in her house as he was in his, but she had barely looked at his eyes. He watched her as she climbed up the stairs and locked herself in her room.

Danny called his parents and after a lot of insistence they let him stay over and next he found James who was dozing off in the kitchen table. Danny told the old butler he could go to sleep that he would take care of the guestroom himself.

After James went to his room, Danny took a quick shower in the guest bathroom and dressed in one of the pajamas he found in Sam's father's wardrobe. Danny went down to the kitchen and fixed Sam a cup of tea. He wanted to calm her down and to do so; he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and mixed in the drink.

Danny picked the cup and carried it all the way inside Sam's room. He found her sitting on her bed, wearing a bathrobe and damp hair with Lizzy lying lazily on her lap, happy to see her big sister back in the house. Danny smiled and closed the door behind him. He was going to say something, but he noticed how serious Sam was looking at her sister.

In Sam's mind she was wondering how good it felt to hold a baby, but at the same time she was frightened. She hadn't thought about it before, but she had been together with a stranger twice and the last thing she wanted at the moment was to get pregnant. She was going to be a good mother one day, but she didn't want it to happen so soon. She made up her mind; in the next day she was going to visit a gynecology doctor.

"Sam?" Danny called softly from behind her. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him.

"Come on in." She said softly "I was just playing a little with Lizzy."

"I brought you a tea with whiskey to help you sleep." Danny said, sitting by her side and putting the cup on her night table.

"Thank you." She smiled softly, not taking her eyes off Lizzy, who was playing with Sam's fingers. "What do you think her first word will be?" She asked quietly, surprising Danny with such question. He was hoping she was going to talk more about Dash or even her new boyfriend.

"I think she'll say 'Sam' first." Danny smiled.

"Nobody calls me Sam near her; she won't know how to say it." Sam smiled. Lizzy moved her head, her mouth open and instinctively reaching for Sam's breast. "She thinks I'm her mother." Sam's eyes filled with tears. "Why does my mom leave her alone?"

Danny didn't know what to say. Sam had a terrible week and she was physically and emotionally exhausted. Normally, Sam would never allow herself to show weakness in front of him. Finally, now that she was clean of the other man's scent, he reached out and held her tightly against his chest.

She didn't protest his display of affection. She wanted to be held by him for the longest time. She sobbed against his chest. Danny quickly broke their hug to place Lizzy on the bed, and then he embraced her again, this time as tight as he could without hurting her. He put his hands on her waist and she gave out a slight painful whimper. He backed away from her and she didn't notice the reason why he did that.

"Thanks." She said quietly, with a shy smile. "I needed that." Danny immediately decided against confronting her at the moment. He picked the tea, still streaming hot, and placed the cup on her hands. He didn't have to urge her to drink; she drank it all in three big gulps, knowing the effect would hit her sooner that way. "Could you feed Lizzy?" She asked with her eyelids dropping.

"Sure." Danny answered. He helped Sam under the blankets; after he made sure she was comfortable, he picked Lizzy up and carried her out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Lizzy laughed softly when she noticed she was been carried by Danny. He imagined she was just happy to see him again. He took her down to the kitchen and found a bottle of baby milk in the fridge. He warmed the milk up as he let her play with his shirt. He was never going to understand Lizzy's fascination with his shirt.

He took her to his room and laid back on his pillow, laying her on his chest and holding the bottle up to help her drink. Danny indeed was fascinated with Lizzy. He could spend the rest of the night playing with her.

When Lizzy was finished, she yawned and closed her eyes, her small hand was holding Danny's finger softly. Danny smiled and placed her by his side, holding her protectively as he fell asleep.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam woke up in the next morning feeling perfect again. She never felt better in her entire life. She yawned and stretched, standing up and noticing that Lizzy wasn't in her bassinet. The events of the night before washed over her and she smiled. Danny must've taken Lizzy to her room and placed on her crib.

Sam exited her room and walked to Lizzy's, but she wasn't on the crib as well. Before panicking she decided to check on Danny and when she opened the guestroom's door she broke in a smile. Danny was lying there, curled up with Lizzy against him, both snoring softly and contently.

Sam grinned. She ran silently inside her room and picked her camera, running back to Danny and Lizzy, she shot a picture that would stay in her diary forever with others remarkable moments of their friendship.

Danny woke up and found Sam smiling gently down at him. He looked down and saw Lizzy's big blue eyes staring at him expectantly. He blushed and sat up, taking Lizzy in his arms. Sam laughed and picked Lizzy from him.

"I see you two are quite found of each other." She joked.

"It's... hm... er... her fault?" Danny answered, scratching his hair and getting it even messier.

"Yeah, I believe so." Sam grinned.

"So, how are you this morning?" Danny asked, standing up.

"Much better, thanks to you." Sam smiled. "I'm going to take Lizzy to James so he can feed her, and then I'll head for a quick shower. I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast, okay?"

"Sure." Danny replied, watching the door close after Sam left. He sighed. He embarrassed himself again in front of her, but it was cute the way Lizzy smiled at him whenever she saw him. Danny smiled and remembered the night before when he held Sam close. It had never felt so good to hold her before.

He frowned when he remembered what happened while he held her. She had winced in pain. What had happened to her? Who had hurt her?! Was it that man?

The morals could go to hell at that moment, Sam was in the shower and he had to see with his own eyes how badly she was hurt. He immediately turned invisible and followed her quietly to the shower. He found her already naked and soapy. He gulped and mentally slapped himself.

He wasn't there to take advantage of her; he was there to help her and nothing else. She was Sam after all, and she deserved his respect. She wasn't a piece of meat he could drool over.

His eyes widened when she washed the bubbles away and the bruises became visible. She had two hickeys on her neck (that's why she was wearing a turtle neck the night before!), finger marks on her wrists and waist. Danny's eyes flashed green and he immediately left the bathroom.

When Sam exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, the first thing she saw was a pissed off Danny sitting on her bed. She was taken aback, but didn't stop herself from getting inside her closet and coming out three minutes later properly dressed.

"What's going on?" She asked calmly.

"I figured since you are feeling better you would explain those bruises." Danny said, pointing at her neck and wrists.

"It's nothing of your business." She said calmly.

"Does he hurt you?" Danny asked quietly, venom dropping every word that came out of his mouth. "Your 'man'?"

"What?!" Sam snapped. "Are you implying that he beats me up?! That he forces me to be with him?"

"It looks like it." Danny stood up walking towards her dangerously. Sam had never noticed how tall he had become and how small she was near him.

"I'm not that type of girl, Danny and you know it very well." Sam replied darkly.

"Then why are you bruised?" He insisted, his voice was low and dangerous, it sent shivers down her spine. Sam took a deep breath and answered as heartless as she could.

"He likes it rough... and so do I."

Danny's urge was to slap her to her senses, but he kept his hands to himself. He wasn't a violent jerk like her lover. Her lover. Suddenly, he felt tears coming to his eyes and he felt like screaming. He had never felt so bad before. He didn't say a word to her. He simply turned intangible and shot up like a bullet out of her house and as high in the sky as he could.

She couldn't have meant what she said. That man was doing something to her and he was going to find out what. He wanted his stubborn and delicate Sam back in his arms and he was going to save her from that jerk.

But for the moment he was just going to cry out his frustration.

Damn her.

Nobody had ever made him feel like shit before.

How could she do that to him?

**It took a while for me to post! Sorry guys and I hope this chapter made up for the delay. I just love to write about how awkward Danny is with the baby. It's so cute. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, I couldn't answer all of them because I've been getting this error message when I try. But I heart everyone who reviews. I need some feedback for this story. It's quite hard to write.**

**Well, I'm here anxiously waiting to know what you guys think about it. See ya next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

Danny avoided Sam a whole week, even the teachers were noticing it. The rumors around the school said they fought because of Valerie, others said Danny tried to force a kiss on her and others said Sam had just realized she was too good to be friends with him, even though she still spoke a few lines to Tucker whenever he tried to talk to her.

But avoiding talking to Sam didn't stop him from watching her closely during all the times he couldn't actually talk to her, meaning, in class. He would arrive earlier just to watch her walking inside the classroom, choosing a seat far away from his.

He noticed the first days she walked slowly, pressing her books tightly to her stomach and slightly grimacing every time she sat down. She was acting exactly like Valerie did after they had their first time. She was suffering from sex cramps and that man had probably bruised her _down there_.

Danny didn't know who that man was, but he hated him. He hated everyone who didn't treat Sam with the kindness her small sweet body required, even if she asked otherwise. And as the days passed she didn't get any better.

Danny wanted to murder that man.

He almost wished Sam was going out with that Alex guy, or even with Victor, that jog that was always helping her around with her books.

oOoOoOoOoOo

It was past midnight and ghosts started to come out of their hiding places, hoping that nobody would notice. Dan Phantom sat over the roof of the tallest building in Amity Park, watching the city lights sparkle around him. His eyebrows were in a frown and his mind deep in thought. His eyes were becoming slightly green.

"_Sam's... different."_ He said in a low voice to himself, contemplating several images he had of her imprinted in his mind forever. He loved it that he could see her and she couldn't see him when they were together. He had never thought of her in a sexual way before, back in his time, when she was alive, she was his best friend and after the tragedy he made a major effort to stop thinking about her, so it would stop hurting.

If she had lived would he have turned evil? Even if all the rest died, but she had stayed alive, would he have gone evil or would he go to her for support? Would he have married her?

The first time he had touched her, that day when he saved her from Dash Baxter, that kid who certainly was the one who was going to rape her; he had held himself back to not loose control over her warm fingers. She was Sam after all. But when she first touched him he completely lost himself.

He had never known love of any kind since he gave up his humanity, he had never been with a woman, and he had never cared enough to go after one in the first place. Now, he was sleeping with his childhood friend, who was still a sixteen years old while he was up in his twenty six years of age! He had told her his age and she didn't care. She had smiled and kissed him, saying it wasn't important.

There was something about her that was softening him up as much as he hated to admit it. That beauty that he had in his arms every afternoon couldn't possibly be his childhood friend; she knew how to move under his weight to tease him, she knew how to respond to him. The way she closed her eyes and bit her lips, her small gasps and whimpers drove him to the edge of sanity.

It was little Sam he was thinking about. She had no idea who he was and that intrigued him more than anything else. How could she give herself to a man without even seeing his face? He knew she was in shock the first time (she saw Dash almost dying, after all), he thought she'd regret it later, but she came back! She came back with a sassy smile.

Little Sam had grown up.

Now he was being so damn possessive of her. He didn't want her talking to nobody and he didn't even have to voice his thoughts to her, for the much he had seen, she wasn't talking even to his younger self. She wanted to be just his and not even Danny could get in between if she didn't give him an opening. He watched her every day in case she needed protection. He wasn't suspicious or jealous of her. He had learned in the past weeks to trust her. She was never going to be unfaithful to him even.

The only thing that worried him at the moment was her reaction when she found out it was him all along. Would she hate him? She did hate him when he fought against his younger self two years before, but would she still hate him after the passionate hours they shared? He had never felt that before, he noticed, but when he thought of Sam disappointed when she found the truth, something broke inside him. He felt scared for the first time in twelve years.

That girl was changing him and he was letting her do it. He sighed when he remembered how glorious she had looked that same afternoon in his arms, eyes closed, and mouth open in a satisfied smile.

He had noticed that his dark red eyes were slowly turning back to green. Sam was calming the beast down. She was bringing back the human feelings he had long lost. How could she bring feelings to a ghost's heart was a mystery. Was it possible that she could save him from eternal damnation?

If he lost his purpose to be a ghost – if he gives up his revenge on his younger self – what would happen to him? Would he... disappear?

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam couldn't stand ignoring and being ignored by Danny any longer. He had to understand she wasn't a little girl anymore and then they could go back being best friends.

That same afternoon, exactly two weeks after they had the argument in her room, Sam decided to drop by Danny's house as soon as she left the appointment she made with a doctor. She had told her lover the day before that today she had to go to a doctor and couldn't meet him right after school. But it was all right, he understood, but asked her to make it up the day after.

The bell rang and Sam looked down at her watch. She had exactly fifteen minutes to make it to the doctor's office. She ran down the corridor, but found Danny standing outside, waiting for her to go out so he could talk to her. She smirked; apparently, he couldn't stand long without talking to her either. Somehow it made her feel powerful.

"Sam, I really need to talk to you." He said, holding her by her arms to make her face him.

"I can stop by your place later; I'm running late for an appointment." She explained calmly, hating to see the hurt look in his eyes.

"With your 'man'?" He asked sarcastically.

"With a doctor." She replied simply, seeing his face fall. He still looked suspicious, though. "If you want to make sure that's where I'm going you can come with me." She said. "But I warn you it will be VERY embarrassing."

"I won't go with you." Danny said, reluctantly, he wanted to make sure that's the place she was going, but he didn't want to go through anything embarrassing, he had enough of it when Jazz decided to convince him that Valerie should go through the pap smear test. He should NEVER have asked what that was.

"Then I'll stop over when I return." She said, not giving him a change to reply before taking off, running in a speed Danny would never be able to run unless he went ghost.

He decided to not follow her. He found Valerie in the crowd, but didn't feel like spending the afternoon with her so he just said goodbye and returned to his home to spend the rest of the day laying down, looking at the photo album he, Tucker and Sam kept since they were ten years old.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Valerie exited the Nasty Burger that night, finishing her shift. On her way home she had to get a shortcut downtown. When she had just crossed a corner she saw Sam exiting a building. Frowning, Valerie didn't want to cross paths with Sam; after all they'd ignore each other as always.

"Sam?" A voice yelled from the other side of the street and Valerie turned around to see who wished to talk to Sam so much. It was Victor, the boy girls were drooling over at school. Valerie saw Sam smiling at him as he jogged the way across the street to meet her.

They talked about five minutes; Valerie was glad that Sam was finally talking to some guy other than Danny. Valerie noticed that while Victor flirted with her, Sam was just being polite. How could that girl suddenly become so popular? Sam was more popular than she had ever been even before her father lost his job! She could say Sam was up to the point when she took the title of 'Miss Everything' from Paulina. Valerie couldn't help but feel a little jealous of what her rival was conquering without any effort.

Finally Sam and Victor parted; Sam made her way left, while Victor went straight ahead, crossing the street and disappearing around a corner.

Valerie came out of her hidden place and looked at the building Sam had just exited and grinned. A gynecology clinic. So Sam was getting laid. Was it possible that she had given herself to Victor? Or was it someone else? Had she been with Danny before they even started dating?

No, Sam hadn't been with Danny; Valerie knew Danny was innocent in their first time. He had been so nervous.

So... the saint Samantha had finally crossed over to the dark side.

Valerie grinned. She wasn't the the type of girl to start spreading rumors, but... _she had to make Danny stop thinking about Sam!_ She was that desperate.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Exactly at six o'clock the door bell rang and Danny made his way to answer it. Sam was standing there, looking a little flushed, but holding her face up with dignity. Danny breathed in relief when he saw her there. He opened the door wider and she stepped inside.

Both were very nervous and avoiding each other's eyes. It had been almost five months since Sam had stepped into his house when they were completely alone. Danny knew it was his fault she stopped trusting him the way she did before.

Five months ago they were playing videogame in his room until they both fell asleep in each other's arms. It would have been a cute scene if nothing else had happened, but he had woken up before her and for some weird reason he recognized the feminine body by his side and moved over her letting his instincts lead him, he found her lips with his mouth and kissed her lovingly for more than five minutes until she woke up completely.

He had grunted in pleasure as her small hands found the way around his neck and pressed him close. She whimpered and called his name when he pinned her hands down on her sides. Her eyes shot open and he immediately noticed what he was doing. While he was frozen on top of her, realizing what he was doing, she had moaned in pleasure under him and reached up to bring his lips to hers again. But he pulled away before they made contact again, jumping from her to the other side of the room calling himself stupid louder than he intended.

That night there had been hurt in her eyes. They had agreed that they would never talk of it again, that it had never happened and Sam left to her house without glancing back at him. Little did he know that she took his behavior as rejection while he was just confused if he should have kissed his best friend like that, if he had insulted her by doing it.

But tonight they were alone in his room again and the air suddenly felt too warm and impossible to breath.

"So..." Sam said quietly, sitting down on his bed. "I wanted to make sure we won't fight again."

"Yeah... I wanted to talk to you about... him." Danny said, sitting down on the floor, far away from her. "I'm sorry I haven't been very supportive while you didn't say a word about Valerie even though I know you can't stand each other."

"So you're going to let me see him?" Sam asked smiling sweetly at him, making his heart melt.

"I guess." Danny sighed. "Can you tell me a little about him?" He asked, he wanted to know how that man was like; his jealously needed to be satiated with that little piece of information.

"You're..." She sighed, burying her head in her hands. "You're not going to like this."

"I have to know." He pleaded. "I worry about you so much! How old is he exactly?"

"Twenty six." She answered quietly and felt Danny stiffen on his seat. "He's the one who saved me from Dash, but I don't know if he actually hurt him." Sam explained, looking up to see Danny's eyes widened, realizing that she was indeed loving a dangerous man. "He's very sweet to me." Sam said, looking to his posters. "He does only what I ask him to do. I was the one who made the first move."

"Don't you worry about his age? That he might want to get serious with you?" Danny managed to ask without gagging. What if he proposed to her? Would she accept? An older man would probably be looking for a wife and not a girlfriend.

"It's an affair not a romance, Danny." She smiled, knowing that Danny understood what she meant. They didn't want to know each other; they didn't want to fall in love. Their encounters were just for sex and nothing else. How could HIS Sam be involved in a relationship like that?

"Sam... this isn't the kind of relationship you deserve." He said quietly, stepping close to her and putting his hands on her knees.

"This is what I could get." She smiled, sadly. "And I'm enjoying it." She blinked once, twice and on the third time tears slid down her face. "I like it, but I still wonder what it would be like if I wasn't seen as a child by you and Tucker." Her throat tightened making it hard to talk.

"What do you mean?" Danny whispered, wiping her tears with his thumbs.

"I was left alone when you two started dating, didn't you notice?" She sobbed. "Every time I tried to date, you guys would scare the boy away and I was left alone!" She took a deep breath controlling herself. "Now I found this man, I don't know if I'd be with him if we were still the best friends, but now I am with him and I like him."

Danny didn't know what to say. He didn't know she was so alone without him and Tucker and even with the effort to keep her on the group he had noticed she wasn't comfortable as she had been before. It was natural that she was going for somebody else, but did it have to be a twenty six years old who used her for pleasure?

He held her close and she didn't protest. Sam buried her face on his shoulder and sobbed. Finally she had told him how she had felt those last months. She sniffed softly and her eyes widened. She awkwardly took another breath.

Danny had the same scent of her lover and it wasn't just the cologne he used. That's why she had so easily fallen for that man, he felt and smelled like Danny. His mouth had the same taste and they kissed in a similar way.

If she hadn't touched that man before, if she didn't know he was muscular, that he had a beard and was about twice Danny's size, Sam would be really scared now, thinking that maybe Danny was the one who had been sleeping with her for the past three weeks.

She smiled to herself. What a sweet coincidence to find someone so much like him.

Danny looked down at her and felt an urge to kiss those soft swollen lips, but he knew he had to control himself and not scare her like the last time. Both of them were in a relationship now, they couldn't just start making out and disrespect their partners.

He looked at her baby skin and saw two new bruises on her wrists. He took a deep breath and held her in a small distance from him so he could look seriously into her eyes.

"I promise you I won't say a single word about your relationship, but first you must promise me something." He said.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"Tell him to treat you gently." He picked her hands and traced the bruise that was currently on her skin. "I don't want to see those again." She was going to say something in defense of her lover when Danny sealed her lips with a delicate finger. "I can't stand to see you hurt, either you like it or asked for it or whatever. If he hurts you again, I'll talk to him personally."

Danny was surprised when Sam smiled, instead of getting angry at his possessive side. She had just realized that it was Danny's way of doing the things right. He was the jealous big brother and that only meant he cared for her. She wasn't going to fight over this anymore.

She loved him too much to keep fighting him.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Good morning, Val" Danny said when he saw his girlfriend walking towards him quite disturbed.

"Morning, Danny." She forced up a smile, kissing him on the lips. "Can we have a small chat before heading to class?" She asked, doing her best to look very nervous.

"Sure..." He said quietly, studying her face closely, wondering why she was so distressed. He tucked her hand and they found an empty classroom to talk. Three weeks ago he'd have hurried to the classroom hoping for a hot make out session, but lately he wasn't feeling much like it. Somehow he felt uninspired. "What happened?" He asked calmly.

"It's about Sam..." She said quietly and immediately Danny's face changed. His calm face became restless, too. If a few seconds before he was still half asleep now he was wide awake and worried.

"What about her? What happened?" He asked hurriedly, holding Valerie's arms as if it would make her talk quicker. His sudden change of attitude almost made her break her act and fight him right there, but she took a deep breath and kept cool.

"Yesterday I saw... oh I don't know if I should tell you, it's none of our business, after all." She said, brushing Danny's hands away from her and sitting down in front of him on a desk.

"It's my business when it's about Sam." Danny said, not even thinking that his line hurt his girlfriend even more, giving her the courage she needed to go ahead with her plan.

"Very well." Valerie said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, pretending she was about to do something very difficult. "Yesterday I saw her leaving a gynecology clinic." Danny immediately blushed and opened his mouth to stop Valerie from what she was going to tell him, because he surely didn't want to know. But Valerie was faster and continued. "She came out holding Victor's hand."

"What!" He exclaimed, horrorstruck.

"That's what I saw!" Valerie said, not letting Danny stop to think and digest the piece of information. "I mean, it's obvious she's been with someone lately, but Victor? And why would she go to such private doctor with him?" She pressed on. "It makes nosense unless she's..."

"What?" Danny asked again, feeling like he was ready to faint.

"No, you'd get the wrong idea..." Valerie said, standing up. "My opinions aren't important now." She bent down and picked her bag. "But you know... it would make sense because I heard her saying something in the bathroom about how 'late' she was."

"Late?" Danny repeated, not getting any of Valerie's drifts.

"Listen, you better just leave her alone for a while." Valerie explained. "If she starts crying out of nowhere and start looking for comfort maybe I'm right, hormones can break the toughest goth... but since I'm not sure..." She kept talking to herself, nearly driving Danny nuts. "Anyway," She finally said. "Just leave her alone for a while. She needs to think things over."

Danny was going to demand Valerie to speak more clearly, but at that time the bell rang and they both cursed under their breaths. They were late for class and Danny would have to return to the subject later.

**Hello! I know I should've posted sooner, but… hell, I'm thirty days away from my college graduation and I'm terrified! I won't have the 'I was busy studying' excuse anymore! Oh dear… I'm so nervous about it.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter even if there wasn't any moments between Dan and Sam. I just couldn't leave Danny in the background for too long. BUT I promise some very good DanxSam moment next chapter.**

**And for those who reviewed, here goes the replies because I couldn't get the reply button to work this time:**

Cutereviewgirl – **I'm glad you like to see Danny and the baby. Sam will figure things out in the right time, I know it's an evil answer, but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you. Lol. And I'll drop you a PM if I need anything, your reviews help me a lot already! **

MayB – **I'm glad you like the story! I'm working as fast as I can!**

SkyAngel429 – **I really appreciate your comments on my writing! Thank you for them and if you like jealous Danny you're going to love what I've got prepared for the next chapters.**

animefreak1457 – **Oh yes, Dan and Danny's hate for each other... and Sam standing right in between them even if they don't know it yet. Lol. The bad part of writing triangles is that eventually I'll have to pick a pairing and other than that it's a great fun writing those!**

Little Japanime Girl – **I'm so happy you like the story! I was worried there for a second. Lol. Don't worry, I'll keep writing the best I can. Thanks!**

Frumkin **– Lol! Thank you! I'm going to make them even better!**

eternalsolaris – **Yeah, I hate Valerie here too, actually, I don't really like her at all, but since she's sort of a villain here she's going to be around for a little longer. Just for a little while, I promise.**

Noir Rose – **Yeah! Naughty Sam! I thought about that line for so long and somehow even if it doesn't fit her character I wanted to write it. I totally think of her a little naughty anyway. Lol. Thanks for the review and the compliments!**

starrobin4eva – **You're welcome! Everyone who reviews deserves a reply! You're so kind! And Yeah, you're right, it's Dan in the shadows. It makes the whole thing so much more complicated doesn't it? And I loved your idea, but I already have it written how Danny actually finds the truth… you're going to love it! And I'm writing short chapters than my previous stories because I think the plot needs time to be developed, besides, it's a good way to tease the readers, don't you think?**

Lady Elyn the druid of Serria – **The action scenes are coming! I promise a huge fight in a few chapters. And you're not going to forgive me for my delay this time, are you? Sniffles.**

Hiruka-Rei's-Kitty – **I was so worries about running out of ideas when I started this fic. You're right and I'm taking my time to write this as well as I can. Thank you so much.**

dannychic2006 **– Hello there! So you like the soft side of Dan as well. It would be weird if he was gentle all the time, wouldn't it? I mean… he's the one who wants to destroy the world. Lol. I'm so happy you reviewed! Thank you so much again!**

Shewhodanceswithdragons – **That will be an interesting scene, won't it? I wonder who's going to be more pissed Dan or Danny!**

PhantomsAngelS2 – **I'm thinking about making DanSam encounters a little less vague, but I'm still not sure about it. I'm glad you like it anyway!**

Icecat – **I'm so sorry for making you wait for so long! Are you still anxious? I promise I won't take three weeks to update it again!**

b4k4 ch4n – **You know, you just figured out one of the moral problems Sam will go through in the later chapters, it's Dan, but he's still kinda like Danny! I won't tell you anything else, but that's the biggest clue and you got it! I do think Sam would cry if a boy she knew died, even if it had been just a one night thing, she was the last person who had seen him alive. I think that's pretty shocking… and a baby? Ha! There will be rumors, as you can see from this chapter, but I won't promise much more! Lol. Thank you so much for the compliments, I really appreciate them!**

BlueMyst19 – **Lol! Yeah, the irony! That's the fun part of the whole thing isn't it? There will be more irony coming!**

aLLgirL112 – **It's almost like Danny is prepared to raise a kid, isn't it? I like to write him with the baby.**

ADarkNightsObsession – **I love you, too!!!**

hamanor12 – **Here's chapter five for you! I'm adding as much plot as I can without making it complicated. I'm glad you like it!**

Corvinna – **I know why you're think Sam wouldn't like Danny, I made her character mature a lot while Danny is still stuck in his teenager brain. It's part of growing up I guess. He'll eventually catch up with her, don't worry.**

Harpiebird – **I should have added some DanxSam fluff in this chapter just for you, but don't worry, I promise you there will be some great heart warming scenes in the next chapter.**

Maguffin2 – **Thank you! I hope to see you next time again.**

Japanese-Fanatic – **I updated! I updated! Lol.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews! **


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

Sam opened her eyes and noticed it was dark outside. She stretched and found familiar strong arms circling her around her waist. She smiled and the arms moved, bringing her closer and snuggling making her giggle.

He wasn't the kind to show affections, she had noticed it for a while. He wouldn't kiss her after they were through, not even goodbye, he wouldn't sleep next to her unless they both were too tired to move. She smiled to herself. She had gotten a cold caveman as a lover and she liked him just like that. She wasn't the hugging and kissing type either.

Every time his lips touched hers and the fire built up inside her body she'd completely forget to ask who he was, what he liked, what his favorite food was and where he lived. But when she came down from her high she remembered all those questions again. Lately, after two months sleeping with a faceless stranger, her curiosity started getting the best out of her.

She wanted to know who he was! She noticed harsh groans of breath bursting from his throat against her skin, so warm and exciting and she grinned when she realized he had woken up and wanted more. He grabbed her wrists to pine them above her head when she stopped him.

"_What is it?_" He asked quietly.

"Could you not... hold my wrists too tight? People saw the bruises. I'm not complaining, but..."

"_I bruised you?!_" He sat up in the bed and Sam could see his worried eyes flashing red and green.

"It's not to be worried about." She offered him a smile that made him completely calm down. He had let go of her wrists and she pushed herself up against him, holding her arms around his neck, scared that she had ruined the mood. He held her close too, burying his face on her hair and smelling her cherry blossom shampoo.

Sometimes, he acted like a scared little boy and Sam couldn't help but smile. Whenever he held her close like that, she had the small remembrance of Danny and how they always hug and how he uses the hug as an excuse to smell her hair.

"When are you going to let me see your face?" She asked quietly.

"_You won't quit asking that, will you?_" He chuckled softly, not letting her go. "_You've always been a stubborn one, Sam._" When he said that he felt her muscles tensing under his touch.

"How come you know me so well?" She asked intrigued and when he didn't answer, she pushed away from him enough to hold his face in her hands. "Tell me at least that. Wouldn't it be fair for me to know who this wonderful man I've been with is?" She added the compliment to get it under his skin, knowing it would soften him up. To tell the truth, she was so curious about her secret lover that she was about to bring a flashlight in her purse and surprise him.

Indeed, he knew it wasn't fair to keep her in the dark, but at the same time, what would she do once she found out he was Danny's ultimate enemy? He wasn't ready to have her walk out on him disappointed or disgusted. He didn't think he'd ever be ready for that, not after he knew how it felt like to be with her.

"I know you're a ghost." She finally said, watching his eyes widen in realization, but he didn't let go of her, or disappear on her or anything, he just sat there, touching her and waiting for her to say more. "If you're worried I won't like you because you're a ghost, I want you to know that I really don't care."

"_It's not being a ghost that worries me_." He said quietly.

"What's your unfinished business?" Sam asked, doing her best to gain his trust even more and keep him talking. The physical part was so easy near this. It's really harder getting into a man's mind than into his pants.

"_Revenge, I guess._" He answered in a whisper. "_I don't really know why I'm here anymore._" He had existed to take out in the world what had happened to his friends and family, but now that the timeline had changed, what was his reason to exist other than kill his younger self? All that hate he had felt once was slowly disappearing into a pleasant feeling of homecoming wherever he was near Sam.

His hate was vanishing, because now... when he thought about it, there really was no reason to transform the world into chaos. Sam was alive again; he didn't want her to suffer in the world he once wanted to create to revenge her own death. Gosh, timeline surely was confusing.

"You don't have to tell me who you are if you don't want to." Sam said placing a kiss on his lips. "But I'm going to figure it out sooner or later. By now, you probably know that I'm Danny Phantom's friend. I hunt ghosts so it won't take long for me find out who you are." She kissed him again, seeing his eyes go completely green and soften up before closing his eyelids. "I'd like if you trusted me enough and tell me before that."

"_I will, but not tonight. I don't want to lose you so soon._" He wrapped his arms around her and shut her up with a long kiss, going for what he had woken up to.

"Yeah…" Sam laughed in an enchanting childish way. She brought him down on top of her once more as fast as she could, making him almost crush her before he steadied himself with his hands on her sides.

Her laugher and the way she playfully knocked him down over her amused him beyond comprehension. She reached up and kissed him, but she couldn't do it for long because she still was giggling in pure joy. She felt complete and loved just laying there with him.

"That's your way to say let's shut up and play again." She laughed against his lips and he couldn't help but laugh at her cuteness too. What he was feeling at that moment was amazing. He, Dan Phantom, was laughing in the arms of his childhood friend. He wasn't laughing because of some evil he had done. He was laughing because for the first since he became a ghost he was _happy_.

At the moment he was getting rid of her panties (why had she put them on again anyway?), her cell phone started ringing and she groaned in frustration. He didn't stop what he was doing though; he reached down, trailing hot kisses down her throat. She reached out for her phone and read the name on the screen 'Danny Fenton Calling'.

Oh to hell with him at the moment, Sam's thoughts shout to her when she felt her lover's kisses getting dangerously close to the spot that made her go crazy. She threw the phone to the night table, but she didn't notice that the buttons had been pressed and the person was now on the line.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny was going to say hello when he heard a soft moan coming from the other side of the line. He froze. She was with him! He took the phone off his ear immediately, but before he turned it off, the curiosity took the best of him; he gulped and heard it again.

"I want to know – ahhh - your name at least." Sam said in a husky voice that sent shivers down Danny's spine.

Damn, he didn't like the sounds he was hearing. Whoever that man was Sam didn't even know his name and he apparently wouldn't answer before draining all the cute little sounds she was making. Danny couldn't believe his ears. What he was hearing for real now was the sounds that invaded his most secret dreams. Her panting and moans became screams and soon she was sobbing in desperation.

"How do you do THAT?" Sam cried out in pleasure.

Danny threw the phone across the room. How could a nameless man excite her so much? And worse, how could he be so turned on just by hearing it through the phone?! It was so humiliating! She was with someone else and he felt like a damn voyeur! He hadn't been so turned on even when he slept with Valerie! How could that be possible?

He was furious. He wanted blood. He had to break his promise and come in between Sam and her fuck buddy or else he'd drive himself insane with images of her sweaty face smiling with a bliss another person had given her.

It was when he noticed that either he was having the worse case of platonic jealousy in the world or he had fallen for his best friend.

And now... what would he do about Valerie?

oOoOoOoOoOo

Lunch break had never been as hellish as it had been that day when Danny finally sat down with Tucker and Sam to eat together, a thing they hadn't done for a while since both boys were dating.

Tucker had developed this weird habit to tell everything he liked to do with his girlfriend to Danny and to Sam. Of course, the situation was awkward when both Danny and Sam were sitting listening to Tucker who didn't notice how uncomfortable both his friends were.

"Are you done, yet Tucker?" Danny asked impatiently.

"Yeah, I'm done, now its Sam's turn." Tucker said, looking at his Goth friend who suddenly became very red. "Don't you think it's time you tell us how's things with your boyfriend?"

"Yeah... well..." Sam really didn't know what to say. "Everything is fine I think."

"What's his name?" Danny suddenly asked, his face darkening, remembering the night before. He saw her hesitating, as if she was trying to come up with a name.

"Why do you want to know? You don't know him anyway." Sam said, grabbing a forkful of salad and shoving it into her mouth to keep herself from talking.

"Apparently you don't know him, either." Danny said; he knew he had promised to not come in between Sam and her lover, but this situation was ridiculous, he wasn't going to let a man use his Sam as a sex doll while she innocently dreamed that he was a prince charming. Dammit, Sam had never been so naive before, why would she start now?

Before Sam had a chance to ask what he meant, someone snatched her hand, making her spin around and meet Victor's face dangerously close. When Danny saw Victor he remembered what Valerie had told him the day before. Was Victor really the one who was using Sam? If he was he was laying to her about his age as well.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, Sam, but we must talk right now." He said; his cheeks were as red as hers.

"Sure." She breathed quietly and left her unfinished lunch behind, letting him guide her away from the cafeteria, feeling Danny's eyes burning holes on her back. Victor stopped in a deserted corridor and turned around to look at her seriously in the eyes. "I heard something today in the locker room and you're not going to like it, but... I think I should warn you before it reach you."

"What is it?" Sam asked, breathlessly, she had never really noticed that Victor's eyes were gray.

"Someone started a rumor that we're having a secret affair and that somehow I knocked you up." He explained, seeing the color vanish from Sam's face. "Are you okay?" He put a hand on her shoulder. Sam had just remembered that she was involved with a ghost; that meant he could be there at that moment and if people were talking he could hear the gossip and think she was cheating on him! Okay, maybe that was a little paranoid of her, but it made her worry nonetheless.

"I'm fine." She smiled at Victor, who still held a worried expression "Really." She laughed.

"Don't you have a boyfriend or someone who's going to be upset about the rumors?" He asked gently.

"Well..." She hesitated. Whoever was with her wasn't her boyfriend. Would it matter if she said she was free? "No, I don't have anyone."

"Good." Victor flashed a grin that showed her his perfect white teeth. "I was worried someone was going to beat me up because of it."

"You don't have to worry about that." She smiled at him.

"Somehow I do worry..." He said. They had never really talked before and now Victor looked like he was her best friend. Wasn't it supposed to be awkward to talk about relationship with someone you don't even know? She felt so relaxed around him. "And there's something else, I sort of picked a fight with the joggers..." He started and Sam frowned. "They may try to hit on you..." Sam almost started laughing, but he held his hands up desperately "No, I'm serious. They're going to follow you around."

"I can just turn them down." She said finding his concern really amusing. "Really."

"I feel like I should help you." Victor said. "It's my fault they're coming after you, I denied we were together when they asked, but it only encouraged them even more."

"There isn't much you can do, I'm afraid." She said. "But I'm used to people picking on me, so I know how to defend myself."

"Can I at least keep an eye on you? Walk you home after class? I'm seriously worried." Victor said.

"Of course." She smiled brightly at him. After so much insistence who would deny it? "But you don't have to, you know."

"It will make me feel better." He insisted. "I'll pick you up in the classroom, okay?"

"Sure." She laughed.

Victor smiled at her and turned around to go to his next class. Sam did the same, but she walked in the opposite direction. Her mind was in a daze, wondering if Victor really was interested in her as he seemed to be.

"It's because of _her_, isn't it?!" Sam stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Valerie shouting inside a classroom. She looked around and saw that the corridor was almost empty, so she pressed her ear against the door out of curiosity. What could possibly make Valerie so upset? "Tell me Danny, it's because of _her_ you're doing this to me!"

"Val, I told you I'm sorry, but... I guess I just don't feel that way towards you." Danny said. When hearing his voice, Sam almost gasped. He sounded sad and desperate to make Valerie understand his point. "We tried, but... I had a great time with you, seriously."

"You can't break up with me like this! Not after what we shared!" Valerie said; her voice was breaking as sobs took the best out of her.

Sam realized it was better to leave them alone. She hated to admit it, but she pitied Valerie at the moment. She sounded really sad. So, Sam tiptoed away from the door and went to her class, Music Class, her heart was a little heavy from what she had just heard. She had tolerated Danny and Valerie's relationship, but that was a quick ending. She didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't feeling as relieved as she thought she would be.

But what Sam didn't know was that as soon as she quit overhearing the conversation, Valerie shouted angrily at Danny something that would make Sam's life hell for the next weeks.

"You're leaving me for Sam! I can't believe you still want a girl who's pregnant with Victor's baby!"

Danny was horrorstruck. His jaw dropped and he stood there in the same position for what seemed hours. Sam was pregnant? It was impossible wasn't it? She was a kid. And Victor? Was Victor really her secret lover? But the day before she didn't even know his name! Was it possible that he had misunderstood what he had heard?

"It's impossible." He breathed out, his voice weak. Images of Sam holding Lizzy flashed on his mind. The way she stared at Lizzy the night he had stayed in her place. They way she treasured her sister was obvious that she wanted to be a mother, but so soon? That made him shut his eyes. He imagined Sam with a big belly, kissing him as if he was the father of her child. "You can't prove it."

"I'm telling you what it looks like." Valerie said, standing up straight with dignity and wiping her tears.

'It's impossible... she can't...' Danny repeated over and over in his mind. His breathing was becoming rapid and rapid… he was going to start hyperventilating if he didn't control himself.

Valerie didn't give him time to say anything else, she picked her things and left the classroom and Danny didn't have to tell her that it was really over, she apparently wouldn't get back together in a million years.

He sighed and left the classroom as well, making sure she was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to at least stay friends, but she wouldn't be friends with him any time soon. But amazingly enough, it wasn't Valerie who was crushing his heart at the moment; it was Sam.

It was hard to believe what Valerie said. It was probably jealously speaking louder than her sanity. He shook his head and decided to not think about it at the moment. He shoved his backpack aside and opened the door to Boys Locker Room, where he found a bunch of jogs talking to each other while putting their clothes on.

"Hey, did you hear that Victor finally got into Manson's pants?!" One of them said a bit louder than necessary and Danny frowned, wondering if the jogs knew he was in the room. To his luck, this year he didn't have class with Dash and Kwan and his idiotic friends, but a bunch of new guys who didn't know Danny was very close to Sam. Tucker was there too, sitting down alone in a side of the room, looking pale.

"Hey, Tuck." Danny said, not really looking at Tucker, still paying close attention to the jogs.

"I heard him saying he'll walk her home today. And I also saw them exiting a sex shop together." A boy laughed naughtily, making the others drool like starving wolves. "I heard she's into bondage."

"What did you expect? She's a Goth after all." Another said, making a drooling sound that awfully seemed like he was about to devour the most delicious meal ever.

"That's it!" Danny screamed in rage, punching a locker and making a hole in it. All the boys stopped and looked at the fuming boy, startled. "Whoever makes another comment like that about Sam will suffer the consequences!" And unbelievingly enough, all boys, twice his size, shut up immediately. Then, taking a deep breath he turned to Tucker whose eyes were as big as sausages.

"Danny... it's true." Tucker said and Danny's flaming green eyes almost made him shut up, too. "I saw them talking about going home together after school." When Danny didn't answer, Tucker decided to ask something else. "Do you think they're...?"

"She's sleeping with someone. I'm not sure it's Victor." Danny said, quietly so everybody else wouldn't hear. He sat down in a chair and continued. "He doesn't act like he's with her. It's like he's just courting her."

"Did she tell you that?!" Tucker asked, surprised.

"No... I accidentally heard her with someone yesterday." Danny said. Maybe it was better to say everything already so he would have some sort of relief to share it. "She doesn't know I know." He said quickly. "Whoever she's with is using her."

"How can you be so sure?" Tucker asked. "They can be in love and you're making a storm out of a cup of water."

"She doesn't even know his name!" Danny said finally and Tucker shut up. "I heard she asking his name and he wouldn't tell her. She doesn't know who she's with!"

"Danny..."

"Just hear me out, Tuck. I broke up with Val before coming here." Tucker didn't know what surprised him more at the moment and he wondered how much more he could take in that crazy day. "I found out I'm in love with Sam, I can't see her ruin her life with someone who doesn't deserve her! I won't let her be used!"

"Did you hear the rumors, Danny?" Tucker asked carefully. "They're saying she's..."

"Pregnant, I know. But I doubt it!" Danny said, walking back and forth in the room. "She would tell us if she was; I still trust her enough to tell me something as important as this."

"Maybe we should just ask her if she's aware of the rumors." Tucker pointed out "She may tell us about it."

"Yeah... after class we'll go straight to her." Danny agreed and they left the locker rooms quietly.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Okay, Manson, it's your turn to show us an example of the song you're doing for your final grade." The teacher said. The Music Class was simpler than Sam thought at the beginning of the year. The teacher had asked her last week to find a music style to work with on her guitar, so she brought one she liked a lot, even though it wasn't the electronic style she was used to.

Before Sam could finish her song, the bell rang and she stopped, but the teacher, Mrs. Johnston, told the students to sit down again and wait for the end of the song. Sam blushed slightly and looked at the door, from where Victor had just arrived, waiting to walk her home.

"Just finish the song, Manson, so I can take my notes and finish this class." The teacher said, tapping a pencil in her notebook.

"_...one sleepless night a ghost appeared on my TV.  
my face before the whiskey and heartbreak  
your sweet young voice put music to the pages of my story  
you sang a ballad called the beautiful mistake"_

Sam continued the song, playing it in her guitar while she sang and her eyes wandered across the room to the door where now Victor was standing together with Danny and Tucker.

"_the most beautiful mistake I ever got to make was you  
beautiful mistake ...beautiful mistake  
so live the happy ever after that your mama never knew  
the most beautiful mistake I ever got to make was you"_

She finished the song and looked back to the door, where only Victor and Tucker were standing. Danny had vanished and Tucker was looking incredibly pale.

"So, you're going to work with country and folk music?" The teacher asked, taking her notes. Sam nodded, turning to the teacher again. "Very, well, class dismissed."

Sam, put the guitar back in its place by the corner of the room, picked her books and left the classroom. She was slightly surprised when Victor kissed her in the cheek.

Maybe she should explain to him that she was seeing someone before he got the wrong idea.

"Where's Danny?" She asked Tucker, looking around.

"I don't know. I'll go look for him and call you... er... tonight. See ya." Tucker said quickly

"That was weird." Sam said, watching Tucker running off. "I could swear he wanted to tell me something."

"Yeah, but he'll call you tonight." Victor smiled. "Do you need me to carry your books?" He asked gently.

"It's just a small notebook, I can handle that." She smiled back. They walked through the corridors and she felt like everyone was looking at them. She hated rumors, but if she was seen with Victor often wasn't it going to make the rumors even worse?

"You see, I have music class on second period." Victor said. "I had to work with country, too. Maybe we could ask Mrs. Johnston to let us work together. It will be easier and duets are always better, right?"

"Yeah..." She smiled. "I guess you're right."

**Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter: **Unpredictable Mind, Maguffin2, xmichelex, chibisiam, Shewhodanceswithdragons, eternalsolaris, hamanor12, frumkin, Lunaqua, Japanese-Fanatic, chelseagrey, Akum, Panic! i'm here, PnayBabyGurl, Save Danny69, darkstargrl, Lady Elyn the druid of Serria, Scarlett Ward, Goshikku Seirei, SkyAngel429, MayB, starrobin4eva. **And a very special thanks to **cutereviewgirl, Eris Dea Disaccordo, b4k4 ch4n, Corvinna and Chaos Dragon.

**I also would lack to apologize for taking so long to update and for not replying the reviews properly this time, but the main reason I didn't is because many of you have asked questions that will be answered as the plot develops so I didn't want to spoil the fun for any of you. **

**I'm very excited to all the reviews and PMs I'm getting for this fic, thank you so much everyone. **

**By the way, the song in this chapter is from no one else than Grey DeLisle. Yep, Sam's voice actress! She has some real cool albuns and there will be one more of her songs in this fic. **

**I'll update again before going to my Christmas trip (I'm going to South Brazil for an adventure in a Switzerland Colony and I'm sure I won't have the time to go online there.), so you can expect one more chapter in the next two weeks.**

**Ooooh and by the way, was DanxSam thing hot enough for you now? Lol. **


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

Dan stood on top of a building, watching Amity Park full of life right under his feet. He lifted his hand and looked at his palm. He frowned and tried to work on his Ghost Ray, but his hand wouldn't even start glowing.

Along with his hate he was losing his powers. His skin wasn't as cold as before and he felt his eyes change colors again this time, from green to blue. Was it possible that he was recovering his humanity? Even thought he killed his human half was it possible that his human body was going to come to life again?

If he kept changing that fast soon he'd fade into a halfa again, or maybe he'd become a mere human.

A human.

Just like Sam.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Victor was happy that Sam let him walk her home. She even invited him over for cookies to thank him for his kindness. Sam didn't doubt his word that boys would chase her around. Indeed, she spotted two joggers following them half the way back to her house.

Once he got inside her house he knew how wealthy she was. He looked around, but didn't let her notice he was somewhat marveled about everything that he spotted inside her house.

She guided him to the kitchen where she knew cookies and milk would be waiting for her, thanks to her wonderful maids who cooked better than any gourmet she had ever seen. She invited him to sit on the table by her side.

"Help youself." She smiled, giving him a cookie and pouring some milk in his cup.

"Thanks." He said. "So... about the rumors, what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should just let people talk, in a while they'll find something more interesting to talk about right?" She tried, but he didn't look like he was taking it as joke.

"No, actually, I think we should put an end on it soon." Victor was going to suggest they didn't bump into each other for a few days, but a baby cry interrupted him. He frowned and looked at her questionably.

"It's my baby sister." Sam said, standing up. "She somehow knows the time I get home and start crying for me to go and get her. I'll be right back."

Sam ran up to Lizzy's room, checking the clock on the way. She had half an hour to put Lizzy to sleep again and somehow get rid of Victor so she could go and meet with her lover. When she picked Lizzy up the baby smiled and immediately stopped crying, giving a small giggle instead.

"You little devil, you know I always come to get you, don't you." Sam said, smiling at herself. She returned to the kitchen and Victor completely melted at the sight of her holding Lizzy.

"She's beautiful." Victor said, helping Sam to sit down next to him. "But you don't look alike at all."

"Yeah, I wonder..." Sam smiled. "She looks more like my dad when I look exactly like my grandma did when she was young."

"Aren't you going to feed her?" Victor asked, gently picking on Lizzy's hand to play with her, but Lizzy didn't seem to like him much. She put her hand away and buried her face on Sam's lap.

"She's not supposed to be fed for another half hour." Sam said. She had memorized all the nap and meal times for Lizzy. "As soon as she eats she falls back asleep so I better hold her up a little longer."

Victor tried again to play with Lizzy, but when she saw his hand coming her way she started crying.

"She doesn't like you." Sam laughed, rocking the baby gently in her arms to calm her down.

"So I've noticed." Victor smiled watching Sam interaction with her sister. "You're very good at this."

"Danny told me the same." Sam smiled, looking back to Victor to see his smile flawed a bit when she mentioned Danny. "I think I played too much with dolls during my childhood."

"You're a natural." Victor said, standing up. "I guess I should leave."

"So soon?" Sam asked to be polite, but deep inside she was screaming in joy that he was going already, that she could feed Lizzy quickly and run to the arms of her beloved.

"Yes, I want to drop at the hospital and see how Dash's doing." Victor said.

"I'll walk you to the door." Sam stood up with Lizzy in her arms, who had gone quiet once again. "Thanks for walking me home; by the way, you weren't kidding about those brutes."

"We'll be careful." Victor said, standing on the front porch. He stared at her too long, Sam realized. It was like he was debating with himself if he was going to kiss her or not.

"We will."

"And Sam?"

"Yes?"

"You're beautiful."

He quickly turned around and left. Sam watched him for a few seconds before returning inside her house, her cheeks burning hot. She tried to forget the sudden compliment. She went to the kitchen and prepared Lizzy's milk, making sure it wasn't too hot. Ten minutes later, Lizzy was sound asleep in her crib.

Now, she was off to meet with _him_.

oOoOoOoOoOo

_"I'll tell you today, Sam." _Her lover told her as soon as she entered their dark room. She stopped on her tracks when she heard those words. "_I admit I'm scared of your reaction." _She saw his now-permanent green eyes softening up, really worried about the situation.

"Don't worry about it now." She whispered, reaching out and embracing. "You can tell me later. I've longed to kiss you all day." She said, stepping on her toes to kiss him hotly on the lips. He had surprised her with his sudden words and she was scared to find the truth. She quietly hoped he wouldn't notice the despair in her eyes.

He sighed against her and held her tight. That could possibly be the last time they were going to be together, so he was going to make it the best. He didn't give her time to think. He walked her back to the wall, where he held her off the ground, making her give out a small yelp in surprise.

He had always been gentle with her, aside from holding her down, he had never hurt her because he knew how fragile she was near him. He had to hold himself back, he always had and she had no idea of it.

"I want you here forever." She told him, huskily, holding herself up in his arms. "I don't care who you are." She said desperately, lost in passion.

_"Don't move like that. I don't want to hurt you."_ He said, his ethereal voice almost broke down and showed his emotions.

"You can't hurt me." She said, wrapping her arms and legs around him as soon as he ripped her shirt and skirt to pieces. His tongue assaulted her mouth forcing her to let him in with raw groans and moans. Just when she thought he was going to asphyxiate her with his kisses he moved away from her mouth letting her breathe and trailed hot kissed down to her breast and she trembled weakly in his arms.

She was completely at this stranger's mercy.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny was beyond furious. Now he was sure that his best friend had been keeping things from him and worse, she was going out with Victor - the great- when he had just realized he loved her. He wanted to have a small chat with her, make her understand how upset and how disappointed he was at the moment.

Damn, she wasn't supposed to be someone else's. She wasn't supposed to be carrying another man's child! She was just a kid!

He had completely forgotten to go ghost. He was running towards Sam's house to demand answers from her immediately. They were best friends; they were supposed to tell each other everything!

He didn't have the time to see someone running his way. He was knocked down with a quick punch and hit the floor, dazzled, wondering where that punch had come from in the first place. When he looked up he saw Victor towering him, looking as furious as he was.

"You owe me some explanations, Fenton!" Victor spat angrily, pushing Danny from the floor by his shirt. "What did you do to Dash?!"

"Dash?" Danny asked confused. "What the hell as you talking about?"

"Dash just woke up from coma, you idiot." Victor said, still angered. "He said the one who beat him up looked exactly like you."

"Like me?" Danny had never been more confused in his life, but still getting a punch from the man who stole Sam from him was utterly infuriating. He pushed Victor's first away from him and stood up in front of him ready to fight back. "I never touched Dash and you're the one owing answers here."

"Me?!" Victor also prepared himself to dodge Danny's moves in case he started a fist fight.

"You're taking advantage of Sam!" Danny accused, "You misguiding her to take her to bed!"

"That's repugnant." Victor said, but the accusation made his anger lower a little. He relaxed his muscles and stood up straight, deciding against the fight. "You must have heard the rumors. I thought you were smarter than that."

"Explain it." Danny said, still angry. "I'm through with rumors and I want to know where Dash got the stupid idea that I put him into coma."

"I'm not sleeping with Sam; as far as I know she's not seeing anyone." Victor said quietly. "And Dash just said the one who knocked him down looked exactly like you."

"I didn't do it." Danny said. "And Dash should be charged, he was stalking Sam when it all happened. She told me."

And then it clicked. He understood what was happening. Sam had said she was having an affair with whoever saved her from Dash, who he thought was Victor, but Victor thought he had beaten Dash up so it couldn't be Victor who was with Sam.

He frowned and thought deeper about the situation. If Dash said he was beaten by someone who looked like Danny... Danny's eyes widened. No. It couldn't be! Was it possible that his older self has escaped from Clockwork? And if he had why Clockwork didn't say anything about it?

His older self was evil. He would never save Sam... would he? Not unless it was a plan to hurt her.

Panicking, Danny ran past Victor, continuing his way to Sam's house. Sensing his panic, Victor ran after him, wondering what was going on in the first place.

"When did you last see Sam?" Danny shouted as he ran.

"About an hour ago at her house." Victor shouted back, running a little behind Danny. "What happened?"

"She may be doing something really stupid now." Danny said to himself.

It wasn't long before the boys reached Sam's house, knocking like mad, completely forgetting that there was a baby in the house and it might be asleep.

The butler answered them shortly, asking them kindly to be quiet.

"James, please, this is an emergency, where is Sam?" Danny asked, breathing heavily from running.

"She left to visit a friend." James answered calmly. "Would you like to come in and wait?"

"No I can't." Danny said quickly. "Do you know where she may be?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe the same place she goes every day at this hour." James said. "Once in a rainy day she asked me to drop her downtown. I think it's where she goes."

"Downtown? Can you give me any directions?" Danny asked, anxiously.

"It was somewhere across the shopping mall." The old man said and in a blink of eye both Danny and Victor were running across the street, all the way downtown. James sighed, muttering something about the kids today and closed the door.

Danny was angrily shouting in his head how to miss Victor, if he lost him somewhere then he could turn ghost and get to Sam quickly, but Victor was athletic and kept up with Danny just fine.

To go downtown they had to pass by school and Victor, seeing this, caught up with Danny, passing in front of him and leading him to across the street.

"Danny, my car is parked right over there." Victor said, pointing at an old mustang that was one of the reasons the girls always asked a ride from him.

"Why did you walk Sam home if you had a car?" Danny asked, already knowing the answer.

"To last longer." Victor shouted back, getting inside the car with Danny, sitting at the driver's seat and quickly pulling over, screaming tires. Danny buckled the seat belts, seeing that they were going over the speed limits and grateful for Victor's help at the moment. "So, are you going to explain to me what's wrong?"

"Sam may be involved with someone dangerous." Danny said. "And she has no idea of it."

"Is it that serious?" Victor asked rhetorically. So, Sam wasn't as innocent as he had thought she was.

"That stupid girl is so naive sometimes!" Danny shouted angrily.

They made it to the mall and Victor parked in the first vacant sport he found. Danny got out of the car and they ran to the street again, looking around. There were three hotels near them, several shops and one abandoned mansion.

Danny's ghost sense went off and he ran to the abandoned house. His ghost sense went off twice as he approached it. Victor ran next to him giving him a questioning look.

"She wouldn't be here, Danny." Victor said.

"I think she would." Danny quickly answered.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"That was amazing!" Sam said, still pressed up against the wall, but completely boneless wrapped around her lovers arms.

_"I'm not through with you, yet."_ He said and it was the first time she felt him actually tremble under her fingers. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and carried her to the bed, taking her completely by surprise that he was ready for another go so soon. He sensually licked her neck. _"Do I hear someone begging?"_ He teased her, making her shiver.

He had never teased her like that before and it completely drove her nuts. His body tightened as he lay on top of her and she bit her lower lip closing her eyes and enjoying the delicious sensation on having him like that. It felt like he had stopped holding his emotions back, believing it was the last time he could experience such a feeling.

He found his way home, making her scream in ecstasy under him. That lovely sound was like music to him. He wished they could go on forever like this. He took his chance to go wilder than ever before and that drove her completely crazy, screaming out incoherent words since she had no name to call him.

But their joy didn't last long. It ended before they even had a chance to understand what was happening.

"Sam!"

Sam opened her eyes as a blinding light made her realize they weren't any longer the only ones in the room. Her lover's movements stopped and she looked up to him, still a little dazzled from the sensations he was giving her.

The face before her startled her. From every ghost she had expected him to be, the last one on her list was Dan Phantom, Danny's older self. It all made sense to her now. That's why he had felt so familiar. That's why he smelled like Danny and knew so much about her.

She had been with _Danny_ all this time...

While she was completely spaced out, Danny saw the most horrible scene of his life. His older self on top of Sam. She had screamed in joy before he turned the lights on! She liked what his ultimate enemy was doing to her!

It was wrong in so many levels.

_"You piece of shit..." _His older self said through gritted teeth, looking straight into Danny's eyes. Despise his anger to be interrupted his eyes remained in the green color. He looked behind Danny where Victor was standing, a human who had nothing to do with their fight. _"I'm not going to make you reveal your secret, brat."_

Dan looked down at Sam who hadn't moved, or even blinked, when she saw him. She was frozen underneath him, as if in shock. He smiled sadly, not minding their audience, bending down and whispering softly on her ear.

_"I didn't want it to turn out this way."_

"Get away from her you bastard!" Danny ran towards the bed, ready to strike Dan with his fists, but before he made it halfway Dan had already gone invisible and completely vanished from the room. Danny sighed, angrily. He didn't notice his eyes were pooling tears out. He walked to Sam and covered her with one of the sheets.

She didn't say a word. He was so angry at that moment that he bit on his lip to restrain himself from trashing the room. His lip started bleeding, but he didn't notice. He pushed his shocked friend up and held her tightly against him, swearing revenge.

**Tee-hee... who wants to kill the author?**

**I'm back from my trip! I'm sorry I couldn't update before I left, but I was caught in last-minute Christmas shopping. My trip was horrible, family trips always suck and I ended badly sunburned. That wasn't a happy holiday for me. Thankfully I've read the reviews I've gotten last chapter and that made my day much brighter inspiring me to write sooner than I had intended. Thank you and I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas. appy New Year everyone!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight**_

Danny had taken Sam home in Victor's car. Victor wanted to stay, but Danny rushed him off, explaining that he didn't fully understand what he saw and Sam needed to rest. Victor didn't protest after that and left, leaving his phone number and address.

"You can call me even if it's past midnight." But Danny didn't even answer him; his mind was busy worrying about Sam.

Danny waited until Victor's car disappeared in a corner and went ghost, picking Sam up bridal style and phased into her room directly so he wouldn't have to explain to the butler why she was only wearing a bed sheet.

He looked down to her when he put her in a sitting position on the bed, she was gripping his arms as if her life depended on it, her face was buried in his chest, but she didn't say anything, not even a sound. Maybe she was in shock. She had reacted in a similar way when he told her Alex had died.

"Hey, Sammy..." He said gently on her ear, to not scare her. "You need to warm up or you're going to catch a cold." He carefully removed her hands from his arms. "I'm going to prepare a hot bath for you." And she immediately wrapped her arms around herself, drawing her knees up to her chest.

His heart broke at the scene, but he stood up and went to her bathroom and turned on the hot water. He went to her closet next and picked warm pajamas and a couple of towels.

"Sam, you'll have to stand up." He said, walking back to her, but she didn't even flinch at the sound of voice, not even under his touch. He sighed in frustration. The last thing he wanted was to bathe her, but he wouldn't let her stay like that... smelling like _him_.

He picked her up in his arms, surprised at how light she was even when he wasn't in his ghost form. Once again he noticed how small she was and how horrible it was to see his older self, twice her size, laying on top of her.

The water was hot so he sat her there and she visibly relaxed in contact with the water. He smiled sadly at her and she turned her face to look into his eyes.

Finally he had gotten some reaction from her.

While he worked up the courage to help her bathe, Sam's mind was elsewhere. Somehow she couldn't work herself to talk or move like her body was still trapped in that moment when everything became clear to her.

She had been with Dan Phantom... and he had been gentle to her. She had been with an older Danny all this time. That's why it was so easy to surrender to him. That's the reason why it felt so good to be simply held by him. Somehow her body recognized his, even if her mind had been as blind as it could be in that dark room.

Was he really a monster? Was a monster capable of loving her like he did? He had whispered regretfully in her ear before going away. He had meant it!

She didn't forget his origin, he had mixed his ghost half with Vlad's evil ghost half and became the dark ghost Danny had fought two years ago. Two years ago he had said that in his weaker moments he missed his friends.

Her eyes widened in realization. Danny's good ghost and Vlad's evil ghost might not have mixed completely. The good ghost still had emotions and remembrances of the past, though he had been weaker because of the pain of his past. And there was the evil ghost who had become stronger, driven by Vlad's dark wishes.

It was like good and evil had always been battling inside of him. The good didn't have a reason to come out until now when he got a taste of the love that had been denied him for more than ten years.

How could she have never seen it before? It was useless to get rid of the human body, differently from what Danny had thought in the alternative timeline, the emotions would be trapped in his mind and not in his body! Maybe fusing up with Vlad really was the best choice to stop the pain... he stopped thinking about it and when he stopped thinking, it stopped hurting.

So the older Danny had some good in him. That was what was coming out now. That's what their lovemaking was able to archive! She had been able to make the good side get stronger! Was it possible for the good to permanently stay in control, with Danny's emotions and memories? Or... was it better to separate Danny's ghost from Vlad's ghost? Was that even a possible theory?

Even older... Danny still was a little boy, hurting and scared, who desperately needed to be loved.

Inside Dan Phantom, Danny still existed.

Danny awkwardly rinsed the bubbles from Sam's body, careful not to touch her. He tried to not think that she was naked in front of him, but couldn't help but glance at her belly once or twice, wondering if there was a baby inside her like Valerie had said.

That would be an evil baby, right?

He turned the water off and helped her stand, wrapping a towel around her. He dried her shoulder and neck and worked up to her face only to see her taking a sharp breathe and her eyes becoming sadder and sadder until tears started falling from her rosy cheeks.

"Sam?" He asked tentatively and was most surprised when she moved; wrapping her arms around his neck and crying like a little girl on his shoulder.

"Oh Danny..." She chocked out between her sobs. If only he knew she was crying because of the horrible future he could have had. If only he knew she cried for the good heart imprisoned in a ghost's cold shell. Danny was so adorable. Even his alternative self shouldn't suffer like that.

"Hey, it's all right." Danny embraced her back, wrapping his arms protectively around her. "I'll take care of you. He won't hurt you again."

'But I want to see him again.' Sam thought bitterly. How could she tell Danny she wanted to see his older self again after what he had just witnessed? And deep down... she wanted to see if her theory about his good and evil sides was right before telling Danny anything. If she was right... she could save him! "I'm sorry you had to see that." She said quietly, her tears had subsided and she finally could take some control of her actions.

"Don't be, I'm glad I was there to put an end on this." He said calmly. He was relieved to get some reaction out of her, it didn't even matter that she was hugging him naked. He put one of his hands on top of her head. The simple action to be patted on the head like that made her feel a lot younger than she was. "He's a bastard for taking advantage of you like that." Somehow, the way he was acting, all grown up and responsible for her, only made her feel even more childish and fragile and small... and she wasn't like that. She was strong. She was tough!

"He wasn't taking advantage of me..." She said quietly, untangling herself from his embrace. She picked the towel from his hands and wrapped it around herself, even though it was a little late for modesty. "I surrendered to him."

"You can't still defend him after what he did! He deceived you!" Danny said, not angry, but stunned, not believing his own ears. He followed her as she regained control. She walked around the bathroom, picking her pajamas up and, not caring that he was there, she dropped the towel and dressed up.

Danny's rage grew inside of him when she turned around and he saw a bruise one her back. There also were several red marks around her neck, shoulders and breasts. His stomach dropped at the sight. He was sure he was going to be sick.

"I'm not defending him." She said, combing her hair. "I'm just saying that he never told me he was someone else. I was always in the dark and I accepted his conditions."

"Why would you do that?" He asked; his voice was barely above a whisper.

"I wanted it. I needed it." She said softly, walking back to him as if she had everything under control again and that she wouldn't need him the whole night to comfort her like the last time. "It was fun."

"You shouldn't sleep with someone you don't know, Sam!" He finally snapped. "You must love someone before doing that."

"Oh please..." She rolled her eyes with a coy grin, knowing it would hurt him, but she was feeling like she had to get rid of him soon or else she might just fall apart right in front of him. "This is so 1955..." It was Danny's turn to feel childish and stupid, even though he was sure of what he was saying. "You don't have to love someone to sleep with them. Trust is all that is required and I trusted him enough for that."

"Oh gosh, Sam when you speak like that you sound like-"

"Like a 21st century woman who doesn't need feelings to enjoy sex!" She cut him off angrily before he said something he'd regret. She walked up to him one more time and put her hands around his neck. This time he didn't feel like holding her back. "I'm sorry we have such different opinions on this matter, but I had a hard day. Can we discuss our moralities another time?" He could barely nod. What was going on here?! She couldn't have recovered from shock so soon could she?

Did he miss something?!

"Sam, I don't think you should be alone tonight." He said seriously.

"I need to be alone and think." She answered him simply, stepping back and looking at his eyes with a small smile. "I'll be fine."

"I'm still not sure... he might come here." Danny argued, desperate to stay by her side.

"He won't." She answered simply. "Please, Danny... I really need to be by myself right now."

Danny looked stupid. He grumbled a small 'fine' and went intangible, flying out of her house as quickly as he could.

Things weren't right. He had to figure out why his older self was sleeping with Sam since he was supposed to not have any feelings. He felt frustrated because Sam wouldn't open up and worse, that she would act like it didn't matter!

He made up his mind. He was going to fly straight to Clockwork and demand some answers.

On his way to Clockwork, he angrily pulverized everything on his way, in the living world and inside the ghost zone, to take out his anger. The little smiling halfa wasn't doing the good anymore.

oOoOoOoOoOo

As soon as Danny disappeared and the warm air returned to Sam's room she collapsed on her bed, crying her heart out.

'What am I thinking?' She screamed at herself in her mind. 'I can't see him again, Danny looked so hurt... so betrayed. And he won't come looking for me. That was the end.'

She gripped the bed sheets tightly under her and noticed how different it felt from her silk ones. She opened her eyes, confused, and saw that instead of a bed sheet, Danny had brought her home wrapped in his enemy's cape.

She smiled sadly at the fabric under her fingers. It smelled like him. She cried softly and curled up in her bed, taking the cape in her hands and softly falling asleep with the scent of her lover surrounding her.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny was tired of being pissed off all the time, but at the moment he entered Clockwork's tower he didn't know how else to feel other than very angry. It wasn't fair how life was treating him and Sam.

"Just in time, Danny." Clockwork said, showing up in front of him, standing in front of the portal that showed the future. He changed from kid to adult, speaking in his calm voice, which only irritated Danny even more.

"Well, if you knew I was going to show up, then tell me already what I want to know!" Danny demanded, looking much more aggressive than he should in front of an old friend. "My older self escaped and you didn't tell me! The world could be in chaos right now and Sam… she doesn't deserve to be used like that!"

"I am the Master of Time, not a God, Danny." Clockwork explained wisely. "There weren't many options to save her from heart break and I certainly saw it coming, but I couldn't intervene, like last time."

"Why not?" Danny cried out in frustration. "He's dangerous!" Then when Clockwork didn't answer, he groaned and pointed at the portal; "Can I at least use the portal to see where he is at the moment so I can fight him at once?"

"You damaged time enough last time you returned to the past to save your friends. When will you understand that you can't change time as you please?" Clockwork said, getting too tired to deal with a stubborn teenager. "You will meet your future self when the time is right."

"I can't wait!" Danny opened his arms, walking around impatiently. "Sam's in danger!"

"She would be in more danger if you captured your older self now. Her life is in jeopardy here. You must understand this." Clockwork realized that Danny had finally stopped ranting and stopped to actually listen what he had to say, completely scared and confused. "Do you seriously think I'd have let Dan escape if there wasn't a very important twist in the life time? I knew exactly when he was going to escape, that's why I left and let him go free."

"You can't be serious. You put the world in danger!" Danny shook his head, not understanding what was going on. "You could've stopped him!"

"The world is in danger, you're right; if he changed his mind at this moment everything would come to a tragic end. I could either let him go and risk it or I could let him trapped and let your friend have a terrible death." Clockwork waved at the portal and the time changed. Danny looked straight into the portal and saw himself crying over Sam's grave. That scared him. It knocked the air out of him and completely took his ability to talk away from him. "That was what was going to happen, if I didn't let him go."

"But…" Danny took several minutes staring at the portal, feeling as sad as his alternative version standing there, feeling the weight of the potential loss of his beloved friend. "How?"

"Rape." Clockwork said simply, seeing Danny loosing his balance and sitting down heavily on the floor. "She's still in that danger, but you can't save her now. You won't be there to save her, but he will."

"You…" Danny managed to choke out. "You… took all this risk, let him free, to save Sam?" Clockwork had put millions of people in danger to save Danny's love and Danny couldn't have been more grateful. If she was going to live, then nothing else mattered. The world could end for all the cared, as long as she was fine, that was all he needed. Clockwork surely understood that.

"I analyzed the possibilities before making my decision, obviously." He said, changing back to a kid. "The world won't be destroyed because of _him_. She changed him enough and she's going to do more."

"No, she won't." Danny finally recovered from the shock. "I won't let her go near him again! I'll watch her day and night if necessary!"

"Apparently at this moment I agree more with Sam's thoughts than yours." Clockwork sighed. "Think of a little boy who took the wrong road and must pay for the rest of his life for this small mistake. He deserves a chance to redeem himself and he can't do that alone. She will help him through that. She will help YOU."

"You make it sound like my future self turned evil because of destiny's conspiracy." Danny mumbled.

"That's exactly what I mean." Clockwork explained. "You should go home now and leave Sam alone for a few days. She needs to recover from this afternoon's events."

"I can't leave her alone." Danny said quietly, looking away in shame.

"She's not ready to face you right now." Clockwork waved his staff in front of the portal and the image changed for the present. Danny looked up and saw Sam lying down on her bed, curled in a tiny ball, sobbing while holding a sheet. No… she was holding Dan's cape! Danny's heart tightened at the sight. He hated to see her crying and he hated even more to see her crying because of a jerk that didn't deserve her tears.

"All right…" Danny took a deep breath, calming himself down. He forced himself to trust Clockwork again. He didn't have much of a choice. He was doing what was right to keep her alive. He had to be patient and let time take its course. "I will give her time before going to talk to her."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Dan floated invisible outside school, watching his younger self talking to Tucker very angry. He waved his arms and brushed his hair impatiently. Dan didn't have to go near him to know he was frustrated about what he found out. How twisted it was to find _he_ was with Sam all this time?

It had been the fifth day Sam didn't go to school, Dan noticed. He had been watching her in school since he had escaped; he knew about Danny's relationship with Valerie, he knew about the rumors about Sam and that Victor guy. After they got together it was hard to not go after her for some fun during the night, but he couldn't risk getting even more addicted to her. He wouldn't invite himself to her house.

It was hard to not think about her. He missed her touch terribly and it was slowly driving him crazy. He wanted to see her, but his stupid younger self had completely destroyed his chances to come near her again.

She had been so shocked when she saw him. Dan closed his eyes remembering her expression. Something inside him hurt when he saw those surprised lilac eyes, it was almost like feelings. He had a vague remembrance of how it was like to feel, but he had made sure long ago that he wouldn't feel again, then why did it hurt?!

It was all his younger self's fault. If he hadn't interfered everything would have worked out fine, but the bloody boy was so nosy! Two years ago Dan wouldn't have hesitated in attacking Danny on his back and getting rid of him once for all, but now… now he couldn't even concentrate enough to get an ecto-blast out of his hands; now, in his mind just concentrated on the memory of Sam and how he disappointed her.

He had never been so confused in his entire life.

Five days without touching her were slowly building up a fire that couldn't be put out inside of him. He had a huge need, an urge to touch her skin even if it was just a strand of her hair. His will to destroy the world was nothing compared to this.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam's hands were trembling when she opened the door of the room inside the abandoned mansion where she had been loved for the past months. She could barely breathe in anticipation. The room was empty, like she feared.

"Dan?" She called uncertain, but there wasn't an answer.

It felt like her heart was bleeding. She slid down to the floor, hugging her knees and fighting back her tears. She needed more. It felt like she would never be able to be herself again. She was feeling like she was going to miss his body forever.

Her actions had had many consequences. While she felt like she was addicted to making love with Dan, she knew she had betrayed Danny. He had made sure it was exactly how he felt for not even trying to talk to her again.

She had betrayed her best friend by sleeping with his enemy.

But she would have accepted it if he was a regular enemy, but Dan was Danny! While she slept with him she felt like she was getting her share of Danny as well. She could never look at Danny without seeing her lover again and she'd never be able look at Dan without seeing the sweet Danny waiting to be loved inside him.

Her whole body trembled when she thought of Danny. She was scared that now that she knew what physical love was she'd never be able to go back to him being just friends. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't the one who she had been sleeping with.

Danny wasn't Dan, but Dan was Danny.

Danny's friendship now would hurt her more than her betrayal had hurt him. Even if she didn't want to surrender to Dan again to make it up to Danny, she knew her body would always give into the memory of the pleasure he had given her.

He had been her first man and he had treated her with respect. How could she hate a man like that? How could she hate a man that had once been the boy she so dearly loved? And even if she could control her thoughts and make herself hate him again, her body would always be on alert and remind her how alive she had once been in his arms.

She had been dying to feel him again. She felt like she was on the edge since they got interrupted a week ago. Just a simple kiss from him now would give her the bliss she had been missing.

She couldn't concentrate on anything else.

She felt hyperactive. She wouldn't be able to sit by the TV for more than five minutes. She wouldn't concentrate to type a short email, much less homework. She didn't have patience to play with Lizzy anymore and the poor infant was missing her. Her hands were shaking and she wandered around the house impatiently the whole day. On the shower she had tried touching herself, but it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough again.

A mere thought about Dan, even if it was a remembrance of him destroying the town, would set her on fire. He was the enemy, but she still wanted him. He was the perfect lover. He was her ideal match.

It was like a drug. Once you try it and like it you will take it again and again until you're completely addicted and can't live without it.

He had never let her leave that room unsatisfied.

That room…

She looked around and saw the lights had been on for a week when Danny had turned them on. It was the first time she had actually looked at the room she had spent the last months in. It wasn't dirty as her first impression had been, but it was empty. There was the bed, which mattress now was molded to accommodate the specific bodies of the two lovers.

There was the night table and dirty sheets on the floor. The whole room smelled like them. It was intoxicating. There was his scent and then hers… and theirs combined. If it was up to her she would never open the windows or open that door again so their scent would be there forever, reminding her the glorious moments they had.

She hated to admit it, but it felt terribly like lovers separated by destiny.

Had she seriously fallen for him? Or was she just in love with the idea of having a man to cherish her? She was very confused and she didn't know if she would ever figure out what she felt for him.

Dan needed help. She wanted to help him. She had to set him free somehow. She had to see him again and help him redeem himself, if not for the man he was now, she had to do it for the boy he had been once.

They had become each other's weakness.

Her whole body shivered as she sat there, in the warm room, thinking of him. She took a deep shaky breath and wrapped her arms around herself. It felt like she couldn't control her thirsty body anymore.

Was it what people called abstinence?

**I'm still alive! LOL. Sorry for taking so long to update, I don't think I can update this weekly as I used to. **

**Well, thank you who reviewed last chapter and the chapter before that! I love you all and don't worry all questions will be answered in time, even yours Corvinna! There was a reason why Dash 'recognized' Danny in Dan. I thought nobody had noticed that, lol. **

**Also I'd lie to apologise for not replying the reviews like I did in the chapters before, but that doesn't mean I don't apreciate them. I literally jump on my seat everytime I get a review and thank you for keep writting them. I feel so special!**

**Next chapter is almost done. I'll see you guys soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter Nine_**

"Let me get this straight." Tucker sat with Danny in his room. Tucker's mother had called him home because she wanted to try this new cookie recipe and she wanted him there to approve it or not, so he went straight home after school, dragging Danny with him so he could explain the whole story again. "Sam's mysterious boyfriend is your evil older self."

"We've covered that, yeah." Danny replied, tiredly and in a bad mood. He had been that way since he returned from Clockwork and after worrying himself for a week he decided to share it with someone else. Tucker had been the only option.

"And she didn't know it all this time, but when she found out, instead of getting angry she seemed to still hold her feelings for him." Tucker concluded, still a bit confused. Danny sighed and nodded. "I seriously think the situation is much more complicated from her point of view." Tucker said, bringing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "If she actually fell for him it's going be a major heartbreak for her. We don't have to fear her picking him over you, we know Sam would never do that, but the choice will hurt."

Danny didn't answer. He had been thinking about that a lot. When the time came to battle his older self, Sam would be the major reason why they're fighting. She was caught in between them and it didn't matter who would win, the one who would lose was Sam.

"But I think we're focusing on the wrong person here." Tucker interrupted Danny's thought. Danny looked at his friend, who had just opened the door to get a huge plate of cookies from his mother and two coke cans. "Sam's hurt, okay, there's nothing we can do to change that, but what about your older self? He didn't attack you or the town yet even after you've got in between him and Sam."

"Maybe he's got a plan and he's waiting for the right time." Danny shrugged. He really didn't even like to think about him now.

"No, the thing here is…" Tucker trailed off a little, trying to put his thoughts in a way that wouldn't hurt Danny. "When he was fourteen he lost everything, he spent ten years concentrating on fighting and forgetting the past. And now he finally realized he could feel again."

"He got rid of his emotions, Tucker." Danny told him impatiently. "He doesn't feel! He's a killing machine."

"That's the point I think you're mistaken." Tucker explained. "Ghosts have emotions as well. Feelings doesn't DONT exist just in human bodies, it's in our minds. He realized just now that he wasn't successful getting rid of his feelings. He's confused and weak."

"We can't underestimate him!" Danny wasn't getting angry because of Tucker's theory. A soft future self who had become weak just because he was sleeping with his childhood friend wasn't the person Danny had battled two years ago, he wasn't the one who had almost killed his family again, who had almost killed SAM without regrets.

"Danny, think about it. He never felt anything and then suddenly he felt what it was like to be with a woman! He knew nothing, but sadness and pain and revenge, but suddenly he was feeling pleasure!"

"Can you please not talk like that?!" Danny stood up; not bearing the mental images it was giving him.

"You don't want to face the fact that Sam had a lover or do you find it so hard to believe your enemy has a heart?!" Tucker shouted cutting him off. He was tired of Danny being clueless and childish. At that, Danny shut up, looking at Tucker in a way he had never before. Danny finally realized that his friends were growing up. "He may not be in love with her, but you can't deny there is affection of some kind." Tucker continued, this time, Danny wouldn't interrupt him. "Sam is the answer to finally beat him."

"Are you suggesting that we use Sam as bait?" Danny asked, not believing what he had just heard. He would never put Sam in danger like that. And if she really liked his older self… to be the bait she'd have to betray him!

"With her consent, we can trap him once for all, Danny, just think about it." Tucker insisted. "We'll have to talk her into this." And then both boys were in silence for a while, until Tucker finally spoke again. "But you know… I think we should talk to Sam and see how she is doing. We don't know her side of the story, yet."

"I don't know. Clockwork told me to give her time." Danny sat down again, finally feeling hungry enough to try the cookies. He closed his eyes remembering something else Clockwork had said, and it was troubling him a lot.

_"And Danny… there's another thing." Clockwork said quietly, making Danny look at him worriedly once more. "A tragic end can't be avoided." Clockwork took a deep breath and looked straight at Danny, so serious that it sent dread chills down Danny's spine. "There are two of you and just one timeline. Eventually one of you will disappear."_

_"And he's the one, right?" Danny asked, taking a step forward. _

_"I don't know who time will choose to disappear." Clockwork answered. "You or your older version will fade into nothingness just like that other timeline. I believe a final battle between you both can't be avoided as well."_

_So that was it then, the time to end everything with his older self was approaching. He only hoped to be prepared._

"He told me she's thinking about a way to save him; like she could set him free from hate or something. We can't count on it, though, Tuck, it's just a hypothetical situation. It would be too much for her and I can't let her risk herself like that. I won't let her see him again."

"I say we go to her and talk about this." Tucker said, standing up. "And I mean, right now. She's got a week to think about what happened. She might need us and you know she's too proud to come and ask help."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam was sitting in the kitchen in front of a plate of veggie soup the butler had prepared for her before going to buy some groceries. The poor old butler was really worried about her. He didn't want her to go ill when she was under his care. She hadn't eaten for a while and she was extremely pale. She was quiet and seemed to not see or hear.

Lizzy was crying in her bassinet, lying completely forgotten by her big sister's side. She had been hungry for hours now and Sam hadn't even acknowledged her presence.

And invisible hand picked Lizzy up and soon both Danny and Tucker became visible inside the kitchen. Sam lifted her eyes to look at them, but looked down again, burying her face on her hands muttering a small 'hi'.

They had to go through the door using Danny's powers because no one would answer the door and Danny didn't hesitate before going inside. He knew she was there, just not in the mood to answer the door.

"Hey…" Tucker said gently, as Danny went straight to Lizzy and gave her a bottle of milk. "Didn't you hear your sister crying or us knocking?"

Danny's eyes focused on her and his heart broke. She looked thin, like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She didn't look depressed, but anxious. Really anxious. As if she needed something important to happen at any moment now. He had a bad feeling that all she had done since he left was cry over that cape.

"Sam, are you okay?" He asked gently.

"I'm going to be." She answered him quietly. "I've been thinking a lot and I've decided that I'm going to forget about it all. I'm sorry for…" Her voice trailed off, not sure for what she owed them an apology.

"Sam, we've been thinking, too." Tucker said, getting serious again and Danny took the empty bottle from Lizzy's mouth. She had finally quieted down. "Dan's out there and he can do harm at any moment now and we need to stop him. If you could…"

"Don't even finish that!" Sam interrupted him angrily, already knowing what was to come. "How can you even ask me to betray him?!"

"You can't be serious." Danny said in a low voice, closing his eyes as he felt a familiar pang on his heart. Sam heard him and her face immediately softened. She stood up and held him close, trying to make him feel better.

"Listen, I've never betrayed you, Danny. I may have disappointed you many times, but I never turned my back on you. I won't betray you ever! Even when you're ten years older." She said seriously, framing his face on her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes and see that she really meant what she said. She was determined.

"I'm not him." He replied, weakly, running out of arguments to convince her to forget her delusions.

"But he's you!" She said firmly, almost snapping. She took a step back, looking at Tucker and then she focused on Danny. She had to make him understand. "He's sweet and caring!" Her own words broke her heart because it was the truth she was holding back to for long. Now she could finally share it with them. Her eyes filled up with tears as she continued. "He was kind and respectful. He really cherished me and the way he touched and kissed… it was your touch and your kiss! I felt the familiarity on him since we first met!"

Surprised isn't a good adjective to show how bewildered Danny and Tucker were. The reason why they were so stunned weren't because the ultimate enemy was sweet to her, but because she knew all this time that she was with someone because he felt like Danny. She had accepted being with someone because he reminded her of the boy she could never have. She took the first step to move on her crush on him and ironically she was led into his older self arms.

Sam still felt something for Danny! Tucker realized and by the look on Danny's face, staring at the crying girl in front of him, he had realized it too.

"If he's as evil as we used to think, he could've easily killed or raped me, but he didn't. How can someone so cruel have such a gentle touch?" She sobbed, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the tears before they made an appearance. "He may have grown up, he may have done a lot of harm in an alternative timeline, but deep inside he's still that sweet little black haired boy with shining blue eyes."

Little black haired boy… somehow her own words echoed in her mind repeatedly.

"In our first time he was so confused and lost." She continued, finally calming down. She didn't care anymore if she was going to expose her sexual life to her two male best friends, they were close to being adults, and they'd have to understand the situation. It wasn't just a kinky high school relationship. She had nothing to be ashamed of. What she had shared was a true adult relationship and they would have to understand this. "I knew more than he did. It was my entire fault in the first place. I was the one looking for pleasure and he was merely looking for comfort. I see the fourteen years old Danny I knew desperately needing a hug inside his eyes."

"Sam…" Danny took a step forward, trying to embrace her, either to comfort or to reassure her he was right there and he still loved her. But she didn't let him touch her. She took a step back, towards Lizzy's bassinet. She picked her baby sister up to keep her between them.

"So please…" She looked sincerely to both Danny and Tucker, "Don't ask me to help you get rid of the man I've gladly given my innocence to." And as soon as those words left her mouth, she left the kitchen; running up to her room with her sister in her arms, leaving both Danny and Tucker to share an uncomfortable, but understanding silence.

She locked herself in her room with Lizzy, walking from one side to another. She had to find Dan before Danny did. She couldn't let them fight, not when there was another and more civil way out for all that.

But how do you find a ghost who's avoiding you? Suddenly she realized it couldn't be that hard to find him after all he must be around watching Danny and maybe even watching her. She wasn't sure if he was obsessed with her as much as she was with him, but she had to give it a try.

Did Danny's parents have a Ghost Detector or something?

A soft knock on her door interrupted Sam's thoughts. She took a deep breath and opened it, revealing a sad looking Danny standing there. He looked hurt, but also confused. Sam loved when he looked like that; it was incredibly adorable, like he was a little boy asking her to be friends all over again.

She wanted to smile and reassure him everything was all right, but her face didn't soften up. She stepped back and let Danny walk into her room. She watched him as he closed the door behind him and moved to her bed, sitting down in silence and looking back at her as if gathering all the courage he had to start the conversation.

She put Lizzy on the other side of the bed, so she could sit down by Danny's side and talk to him without getting them both distracted with the baby. There sat there, side by side, touching hips for long minutes.

Danny gently moved his hand to grab hers and study her fingers. Her hands looked small and delicate near his and it almost scared him to think the size of her hands compared to his future self. He couldn't tell her about what Clockwork had told him, could he? If he told her she was in danger of getting killed he could change the course of the time and who knows what could happen after that?

But it wasn't the future that concerned him now. Tucker had been right. Sam had actually liked to be with Dan, before being a psycho he was Sam's first lover and as much as it hurt to Danny admit it, it was time to settle things right between them.

Danny finally figured out he couldn't be jealous because Sam had someone who wasn't him in her life. He had had Valerie too and she didn't say a word. Sam was a true friend while he acted like the possessive friend who couldn't bear being second best in her heart.

He couldn't say if she was expecting him to say he was sorry for how he acted, for not trusting her, for telling her to stop the bruises, for not supporting her relationship. He felt he owned her an apology for all that, but to his surprise it was she who said it first.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, looking at the floor to avoid his eyes.

"What for?" He asked her, a little confused.

"For sleeping with your enemy." The words felt like they burned when she said them. "And thank you for saving me from him." Danny shook his head, he wanted to tell her there was nothing to apologize for, that feelings can't be avoided even towards an enemy, but she didn't let him say it by continuing what she was saying. "I could've been even deeper into this if you haven't saved me and it could have hurt much more than it hurts now."

"It's not your fault, you don't have to apologize." He intertwined their fingers, making her smile for the first time since he had last seen her, a week ago. "I believed the rumors and I avoided you." Danny continued. "I always trusted you, except when you needed me the most. You're my best friend and I don't want us to drift apart because of someone else." He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. He had to tell her. It was now or never. "I broke up with Valerie."

"What?" The smile on her face disappeared and she looked at his face completely stunned. They had been so in love and then they suddenly broke up?

"It wasn't working because I wasn't in love with her anymore, if I ever was." He added after a short pause then he looked down at Sam's puzzled eyes and he knew he couldn't deny it anymore, but he couldn't tell her just yet, not after what she had been through the past week. "I'm sorry, I haven't been a good friend lately. But now I will, I swear." He said seriously at her. "I just need to know one thing." And Sam nodded, ready to answer truthfully whatever he asked. "Are you in love with him?"

"No." She smiled at Danny's concern, finally breaking the icy barrier around them. She felt like she needed a hug like the last time so she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I like him a lot, I care deeply for him, but I've never been in love with him." She felt Danny sigh and relief under her arms, but she had to make sure he fully supported her on what she wanted to do. "It's for caring about him, that I want to help him. I want to set him free from all pain and hate he felt all these years."

"I understand why you want to do this, but you must understand how dangerous it is." Danny said, untangling from each other to look at her face and let her see how concerned he was about the subject. "I don't want you to risk yourself like that. I can't bear to see you hurt."

"I don't want you to risk yourself in a battle either." Sam replied to show him she had her point as much as he had his. Neither wanted to see the other hurt. "It's my moral duty to do this – don't interrupt me – There's a way to solve all our problems that doesn't include violence. If there are better ways to go about this than I'm willing to try. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"All right." Danny sighed, seeing that there was no way out of that one. "I promise I won't go after him, but I can't promise that if he comes after me or do anything bad that I won't go and fight him."

"Thank you." She said sincerely, taking a deep breath. And then she froze. Danny's cologne was the same as Dan's. Her body immediately reacted to the scent of her lover. She bit her lower lip and looked away, trying to stop the images of their sexual encounters that suddenly took over her mind.

Her room suddenly was very hot and she had chills all over her body. She stood up and walked to the window to open it up, but it was too late. She was on fire already. She could almost feel his hands teasing her body slowly and torturously in a never ending game of pleasure.

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to calm down. She felt weak and her knees started shaking. She walked from one side to another, trying to hide from Danny how desperate she was, but what he did completely messed everything up.

"Sam, stop pacing." He told her confusedly and when she didn't stop, he stood up and held her in his arms, scared that she might be having a nervous break down or something.

When his arms wrapped around her tiny body, hands resting on her lower back, Sam completely lost herself. It was the same gentle touch, the same gentle hands. Danny had grown a lot in the past two years, making him at least one foot taller than she. She rested her cheek against his chest, just like she did with her lover. It felt like he was there with her again. She tightened her eyes close, but couldn't stop herself from giving a small pleasure moan when she felt his body heat.

"Sam?" Danny tried to move away, looking down at her when he heard the cute noise she had just made, but she didn't let him back away even a millimeter. She clutched her hands tightly on the front of his shirt, breathing quickly.

"Just… don't let go." She managed to say desperately. She could tell Danny was confused and scared, but she couldn't let him walk away just now. She took a deep breath and he instinctively moved his hands around her back in a caring way. His hands went down a little and that simple touch completely threw her at the edge, making her explode in thousands shining stars right there in his arms.

'That was a massive one…' Sam thought after she finally descended from her high. All Danny had done was hold her and she completely surrendered to the power his body naively had over hers. That was incredible.

She continued hiding her flushed face on his chest, hoping he hadn't noticed what had just happened. He surely felt her tremble… and he supported her when her knees buckled and he would see the sweat forming on her forehead, but other than that, he had no proof she had just experienced the best climax of her life.

"What just happened?" Danny asked her frantically, not letting go, afraid she would fall on the floor completely boneless.

"Nothing, I'm fine." She said quickly, getting away from his embrace, looking at him as if her life was all rainbows and butterflies. Such a cynic girl. "Is Tucker still downstairs?"

"Yes." Danny mumbled, still eyeing her flushed face suspiciously. "You're not pregnant, are you?" He suddenly blurted out, not even thinking about his question. To his surprise, instead of getting mad, Sam's face lit up and she laughed so beautifully that Danny could have melted on the spot.

"No, I'm not." She answered him with glee. "I'm under birth control, well, I was… there's no point taking them anymore. Anyway, there's nothing to worry about." Then she hit his arm playfully, like she always did to show him she was 'one of the guys'. "Go find Tucker and wait for me at the theater. Tonight we'll go for a much deserved night of movies and pizza."

"All right, he's going to love it." Danny answered happily. He completely forgot what had just happened in that room, just what Sam had expected by changing the subject. Then he left Sam's bedroom, taking Lizzy with him.

Sam sighed in relief and slid down to the floor, feeling completely exhausted. First she had to get herself together and just after that go down to spend time with her boys. It had been long since they could have some fun, with her avoiding Valerie and Star and then with Dan in her life she realized that she had been neglecting her friends more that she would have imagined.

She picked her cell phone and called a restaurant and ordered Danny and Tucker's favorite pizza and a small veggie one for herself. Then, she ran into the bathroom to take a shower and fix the mess she had made.

That was it. She was going to give them a special night to catch up with their friendship. They needed a night like the old times, free of Valerie, Star and especially free of Dan and strategies to get him.

Tonight she was going to forget her worries.

But after, she was going to find Dan by herself. If they really had become each other's weakness, all she had to do was put herself in danger and he'd come for her, like a freaky prince charming.

And then… she could save him.

But how exactly was she going to do that?!

**Super excited author here. I'm freaking out right now, I don't even know how I'm able to write this. You know why? I just got a job interview! A producer called me to write the screenplay for a sitcom series for the next nine months! Holy Shit!!!!! **

**Thank you my lovely readers and reviewers! I can't even thank you properly right now! I'm literally jumping around my room! I mean... OMG!!!!!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten**_

Sam had the plan in her mind. She had to lure Dan out somehow and the best way she could think of doing that was to take a risk. She was almost sure he watched her every day when she was outside her house. She thought he had been there with her in school, at the Nasty Burger and even when she took Lizzy out to the park. If he still acted like when he was younger, spying on her would be a daily routine now.

When she realized that she wasn't acting paranoid, that was very probable that Dan watched her she stopped talking about him to Danny and Tucker so both boys thought everything was fine again, that she was no longer hurting or even missing her former lover.

"Hey Sam!" Victor called her while she looked for her books in her locker. She lifted her eyes, giving him a smile.

"Hello there." She answered him, quickly looking around to see the gossiping students staring at them. She got used to the rumors and the bets on her supposed pregnancy. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to practice our duet after class." He seemed ridiculously nervous about it, it made her grin. "I don't know if you're busy, but… well… we've only got a month left to write and perform it."

"Sure, we can do it after class." Sam's smiled failed a bit when she remembered she didn't have a meeting with her lover after class… after months giving herself to him, she had been without a single affectionate touch for two weeks now. Well… except for that strange thing Danny made her feel in her room the week before. "Oh wait, I have something here to help us start."

"What is it?" Victor asked curiously, seeing her digging through her backpack. Then she gave a small triumphant cry and put a small piece of paper in his hands. "_Oh where's the little black haired boy with shining eyes of blue._" he read out loud following the musical notes she had written under the lyrics.

"It's just one line, but I thought it was a good start." Sam blushed. "Did you like it?"

"Yeah!" Victor exclaimed, looking at the piece of paper. "Do you have any idea how to continue this?'

"Yes." She grinned, excitedly. "But I'll only tell you after class. See ya." She tried to walk away, but Victor held her hand, spinning her around gently so he could look at her in the eyes. "What is it?" She asked a little confused.

"I meant to ask…" He licked his lips nervously, taking a deep breath. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course I am." She gave him a small confused laugh, as if he was making no sense at all.

"I mean… after Danny made you break up with your boyfriend." Victor said, not caring if she was still avoiding the subject.

"How do you know?" She whispered to him quietly, seeing that the students were still overhearing them.

"I was there with him when… well…" He rolled his eyes in an indicative way and Sam's jaw dropped. She didn't know Victor had seeing her with Dan!

"Oh my…" She managed to say, looking away from his deep green eyes. "This is so embarrassing."

"No, it's not." He said quickly, lifting her face with a gentle thumb. "I was worried because Danny said that your boyfriend was someone dangerous. He was a ghost, I mean… I was scared he was haunting you or something. I thought he was some sort of Incubus…"

"Oh no." She gave him a half laugh, trying to calm him down. "He's someone I know… someone I care for dearly. He wasn't using me or anything and when he realized he had to go, he did." She explained sadly. "He's not what Danny thinks he is."

"So he's not around anymore?" Victor asked hopefully.

"As far as I know, he's not." Sam said, giving him a sad smile meaning to comfort her than him. How much she wished he was still around!

"All right." Victor somehow noticed she was sad about the whole thing, so he couldn't help it but hold her close and tightly, surprising her enough to make her drop her books. She was worried it was just going to make the rumors worse. But Victor was a dear and he was there offering comfort. He didn't care if he had caught her in bed with someone else. Normally it would drive a boy's crush away, but he didn't look disgusted. She encircled her arms around him, holding him back very grateful for his sudden display of affection.

Danny stood at the end of the corridor, seeing the whole scene. He was very disappointed that she was seeking comfort in Victor when he was just there, looking forward to be the one holding her while she trembled in his arms once more.

After that day when she practically melted in his arms Danny really thought she was going to give him a chance. And now she was hugging Victor in front of the whole school. His opportunity to make Sam his vanished in front of his eyes. His hopes were replaced by a sudden anger toward Victor.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Sam where did you get the idea for this lyrics?" Victor asked her, as soon as she ended the song. They were both sitting on the grass behind the school.

"He was like a young man who left his new and passionate wife behind to go to war and when he went back home he wasn't the same person. _Little black haired boy… _who lost himself." She said quietly, biting her lip nervously. She had inspired the song in Dan… since he was a boy and lost himself, she thought that now he was slowly walking back to her. "His wife still sees the man she loves in him, but he acts like a stranger. In a way, he's lost and he'll never be who he was before..."

"I really like this story." Victor smiled at her, copying the lyrics and the notes on his notebook. "We need to practice again. It needs to be sung with the right expression and tones."

"I agree. It's going to be a hard job, but… I think it will be worth it." Dan was worth that song. She stood up, gathering her things. "Well, I have to go. I need to get ready for a party."

"A party?" Victor asked, surprised. She didn't look like someone who would have many party invites for a Friday night.

"Yeah, well…" She smiled mentally, happy that Victor seemed concerned about her, but she couldn't tell him where she was going. She had to lure Dan out by herself and she was going to do it that night. "I have to go."

"Be careful." He said louder at her while she turned her back and ran away from him, waving her hands in a cute way, gesturing him to chill out. He grinned and returned to his notes.

He really loved that song. Had she come up with that all by herself?

"Hey, Victor." Victor turned around to see an annoyed Danny walking slowly towards him. "Have you seen Sam?"

"Yes." Victor stood up, looking as annoyed as Danny. It was a matter or marking territory between both boys now. Both wanted Sam and even if they wanted the best for her, they still hated each other enough to start a fight. "She just left."

"Did she tell you where she was going?" Danny pressed on, eyeing Victor suspiciously. For all he knew Victor could be the one who was going to hurt Sam, like Clockwork had warned. He was the only person with enough strength to harm her and he seemed very interested on her.

"Some party." Victor shrugged, reaching for his pocket to grab a pack of cigarettes and a lightener. "I have no idea, I'm not her babysitter."

"Stay away from her." Danny warned him between gritted teeth, turning around and not giving Victor a chance to reply before dashing away in the same director Sam had gone to.

Victor couldn't believe Danny's nerve to talk to him like that, but he didn't press on the matter. He wasn't the type that would get threatened by Danny's hate glance. If he wanted Sam he would get her even if Danny got pissed off about it.

Valerie stood a few meters away from both boys, having heard the conversation by accident. It just gave her a brilliant idea. She couldn't help but smile at herself.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam finished applying mascara over her eyes and studied her work in the mirror with a smile. She wasn't a prep girl, but she knew how to apply a good stylist make up. Her work was done and she looked at least three years older, with the new hair cut she just did herself and the whole golden make up she applied to her tanned skin (yeah, the Goth girl got a tan).

The final touch was the dress. A small green dress she had on her wardrobe for a while and she thought she was never going to wear (her mother bought it in the last Spring Fashion Week in Paris because it was especially designed by Jean Paul Gautier or one of those famous stylists Sam didn't pay attention to). Golden sandals and golden purse were the final touch.

In the mirror, instead of herself, Sam saw a very grown and desirable young lady. She knew it wasn't with her looks that she was going to lure Dan out, but when the boys in the expensive underground club she was going to go looked at her, she knew Dan would come out, dying of jealously just like when he was younger. Hopefully, he'd show up even before she stepped into that horrid club.

With one last glance to what she had become, she left her room. It was past midnight so she went straight to Lizzy's room to see her baby sister sleeping peacefully. She placed a soft kiss on her sister's forehead, not wiping off the red lipstick that marked the baby.

She left her house, locking the door behind her. She didn't see a shadow moving right behind her, watching her carefully. Valerie was dressed in her fighting suit, floating on her board following Sam's steps. She was blind with jealousy. She couldn't understand why Danny would defend such an uninteresting girl like Sam so much.

In the dark of the night, the only noise heard was the echoes of Sam's high heels on the sidewalk in a slow rhythm. Green and gold, she was completely shinning in the streets, draining attention from people who came out their windows to see her pass by.

She made her way to a famous underground club where the rebels' daughters and sons of the high society usually hung out. It was a dark place for socialites. The perfect place to find a bad boy and make sure she was saved by Dan himself.

Sam took a deep breath before entering the club. She really hoped she was right and Dan was following her or else she'd get in serious trouble. She wasn't wearing her boots and it slightly worried her how she could really hurt a guy in case she had to defend herself.

Valerie stood, stunned, in front of the club's door, in a dark alley. Sam was alone in the most dangerous club in town. It was her chance to show Danny how low Sam was. Valerie picked her cell phone and dialed Danny's number.

"Danny? I just saw something you'd like to know…"

oOoOoOoOoOo

Dan couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Sam entering that Club. He had followed her since she left her house because he had seen Valerie and was suspicious she might try to hurt Sam. It didn't make much sense to him, since Valerie was a good person, but he feared a brokenhearted girl could be more dangerous and unpredictable than he could give credit for.

He remained invisible, watching her as she called his younger self to the club. Indeed, she was up to something, maybe ruining Sam's reputation so Danny would loose his interest on her. Dan didn't really care about the teen's heart problems; he was more concerned about what could happen to Sam inside that club.

Sam was hurting since they stopped seeing each other, he saw in her eyes the same desperation he was feeling, the urge to touch each other again, but he couldn't show up in front of her like that. She might be feeling sad, but that was for her own good, after all who would be a ghost's lover? There was no way that story could have a happy ending. It was good it was over soon.

Dan realized she was already searching for someone to replace him. Victor was a good option; he was more like the person who would give Sam the happiness she deserved. She was in the club that night to look for a mere distraction, someone she could be with without caring, for a quick make out section and then say goodbye and never see him again. She was just looking for someone to satiate her for the night, wasn't she?

Dan didn't like that side of her, it was too different from the Sam he had known, but she had surprised him many times since they started their relationship and she still managed to enchant him with her independent and carefree attitude.

It didn't matter how many times he had taken her, deep inside she remained innocent and that's what was beautiful about her.

He sighed heavily when he realized what had happened through all those months. At that moment he was hurt that she would seek someone else to get over him, he was jealous other men would get the chance to look at her.

Somehow the heartless Dan Phantom had fallen in love.

Valerie's suit suddenly warned her that she was dangerously close to a ghost, right after she ended her call to Danny. She looked around, trying to trace the ectoplasmatic energy on her radar.

She found him floating a few feet above her and she gasped when she read how strong he was. The best way to attack a strong ghost was to catch him with a precise shot when he wasn't prepared for it. She had to knock him down fast or else she wouldn't stand a chance to defeat him.

Valerie quickly aimed her ecto-gun at his chest, since he had a human form that was a good place to hit. She took a deep breath and shot.

Dan was hit full in the chest. He was distracted looking towards the club when Valerie shot. He wasn't hurt, it would take much more than a mere weapon to hurt him, but he was caught by surprise and that gave Valerie time to fly around him and give three more shots.

He went flying towards the ground where he sat for a few seconds to catch his breath. He didn't want to fight a human girl. He wasn't in the mood for fighting. All he wanted was Sam!

Valerie aimed at him once more, but he moved away quickly so the shot ended destroying the wall behind him. He looked at the damage on the club's wall and frowned. If she kept shooting like that she would make the club fall down on the people inside. Sam would be hurt.

Dan tried to shoot a small and harmless ghost ray out of his hands, but somehow he couldn't bring out any kind of ghost energy so he flew towards the sky, avoiding her attacks. Valerie wouldn't endanger anyone there. When Valerie stopped following him he looked down at her, confused when he saw that she was standing on the ground, looking at some other direction.

"You!" She shouted angrily.

Dan followed her gaze and saw his younger self, in his ghost form, quickly flying towards the club. Dan smirked and phased inside the club. He was going to let Danny take care of Valerie while he found a way to drag Sam out of there.

"I don't want to fight you!" Danny said quickly, avoiding three blows at once. "I'm not going to do any harm!"

"Yeah, right. Neither will I." Valerie answered, shooting again. There was no way Danny could escape that fight.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam walked around the club, dancing with the hip hop song that was playing loud enough to make her completely deaf the next day. She looked at everyone in there, feeling very attractive as men stared at her as she passed by. She already had two shots of tequila and was waiting for the effect to kick in.

Two hands encircled her waist from behind and she was spun around without a chance to hold herself. She ended in the arms of a tall handsome blonde who's face she couldn't see. He grinned at her stunned silence and slowly took the cigarette out of his mouth before crashing his lips on hers without giving her time to push away.

When he spun her around, Sam completely lost her balance, finally feeling the effects of her drink. She realized she liked it. She liked to feel someone's arms around her again and some lips teasing hers. Even if he wasn't who she wanted, she could always close her eyes and pretend.

Maybe he noticed she was drunk or he simply thought she would go with him wherever he chose. He took her hand, gripping it firmly to not let her slip away, and then he guided her towards the back exit that was a small door in a dark alley. As soon as he closed the door, he held her against the wall. Sam's drunken eyes still couldn't see who the man was even in the small light of the street lamp.

"Is it your first time here? I never saw you here before." He asked, pretending to be interested, while he lightened another cigarette.

"Yes." She said, taking the cigarette from his mouth and taking a drag. She didn't ask his name, she didn't want to.

"It's nice to know you like alternative clubs." He answered, grinning when he saw her taking a professional drag. "Would you like to smoke something else?"

It didn't take more than two seconds to Sam realize, even in her drunken state of mind, that he meant to give her drugs. Even if it scared her, the excitement of doing something completely new and forbidden encouraged her to accept the offer. After all she was a Goth and she wasn't afraid of anything.

He opened a new cigarette pack and searched in the middle of it until he found a handmade one, looking a little torn and old. He lightened it and took three huge drags before passing it to her. Sam had never done it before, so she just did exactly what he had done taking three drags before giving it back to him.

To her disappointment, she didn't feel a thing; she didn't get high or anything else. She felt completely normal.

"Is it your first time with dope?" He asked her, noticing that she was still sane enough.

"Yes." She answered, taking the drug from his fingers to take a few more drags, desperately wanting to feel something that could encourage her through whatever was going to happen. She had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Usually people don't get high at the first time." He explained, grinning at her. "If you try it again within a few days you'll have quite a trip, but I'm sorry to inform you tonight you won't feel a thing."

"What a shame." She joked; passing the drug back to him, since she wasn't feeling anything, then there was no point smoking it anymore.

"There are other options..." He said, leaning close and kissing her desperately on the lips, forcing his tongue in her mouth without giving her a second to breathe. The loud music inside the club didn't even let her hear her own thoughts. The sane part of her mind was screaming at her that it was wrong, that she should walk away from that man because her point was to lure Dan out with dignity, but her body was desperate for a touch. The loud music didn't let her hear the battle going on just above her head, ghost rays and shots flying in the air as Danny and Valerie aimed each other.

She wouldn't regret to surrender to that stranger. She couldn't. It wasn't a mistake, it was a new experience. His hands held her against the wall, exploring the length of her tights and crawling at her panties like a thirsty lion.

He picked her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. While he licked and teased her hair with careless abandon she opened her eyes and stared at the night above her. The stupid stars looked so bright they seemed to be mocking her while she was trapped in the dark of a moral dilemma.

And then she saw it.

A ghost ray flew across the sky and she narrowed her eyes to see better who was fighting up there. The man sucked at her neck with passion now, biting and hurting her. She pretended to not care, biting her lower lip to keep herself from moaning. Her attention was focused on the sky, trying to see whoever was there.

And then she saw him.

Danny was battling Valerie. Sam closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't see her in the awkward situation she had willingly put herself into. Danny wasn't supposed to be there! It had to be Dan! Danny couldn't see her like that!

But not even the strongest prayer could have stopped Danny from glancing down, towards the club and like a magnet connecting his eyes straight to hers in a glance that hurt them both more than wounds ever would.

He saw Sam pressed against the wall, but unlike what Clockwork had said, she wasn't being raped, she was willingly giving herself to _that_ guy. He saw her hands holding his blonde hair and she didn't object when that man's hands disappeared under her skirt.

Sam saw tears in Danny's eyes as he floated several feet above her. She could almost see his heart breaking in disappointment. He saw her as a whore now and there was no way she could explain to him that she wasn't, because she was really feeling like one.

She had done all this to see Dan again. Where was he? She had just broken Danny's heart, deceiving him and making him think she was something she really wasn't.

She wasn't a whore, she was just some stupid girl in love and desperate to get her lover back. She was someone who had crossed the decency line to get who she wanted, but failed miserably.

Just one look at Danny made her remember how much she loved him in the first place. That she had ended in Dan's arms while she was trying to get over him, only to realize she would love him even in his darker older version.

She loved him and she broke his heart.

The man must have felt her tears, because he looked up at her in confusion.

"I'm sorry." She managed to choke out. "But I can't."

"Yes you can. Just forget him, Sam." He replied, not looking very sympathetic towards her tears. He started kissing her neck again, but this time he managed also to rip her panties apart, giving her a few bruises on the process. "You can't stop now." Her heart was beating wildly inside her chest, fear slowly crawling its way up and making her breathless. She didn't even notice he had called her by her name when she hadn't even introduced herself.

"Stop. I don't want it anymore." She said seriously, trying to push him again, unwrapping her legs from his waist and succeeding on putting one feet back on the ground, but he held her other leg up, not letting her walk away that easily. "Stop, you're scaring me!"

But he didn't answer, as if he was trying to make her still feel something that would convince her to stay, or maybe he was just thinking of himself, not caring about her feelings at all.

Sam put both hands on his chest and pushed him away with all the strength she had, making him lose his balance, stumbling backwards. That gave her time to run five feet away from him before he caught her again by her left wrist, twisting it around to stop her, but breaking her wrist in the process.

She cried out in pain, tears immediately spilled from her eyes. In automatic reaction, her body gathered its entire straight and she slapped him across the face. That was her fist mistake, because he was much taller and much stronger than she would ever be, so when he returned the slap it hurt much more.

With a broken wrist and bleeding lip, Sam didn't have much more strength in her to fight what was about to come. He unzipped his pants and she felt herself go limp, ready to pass out.

"No, please don't do it... please..."

**Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter! I had a busy month! Between job interviews (I'm gonna start writing that sitcom series next month!), my parents' 25 years anniversary, Brazil's carnival, trying to finish my short animation film and a mind-blowing romance with a German I had almost forgotten about my dear fanfics and readers. I just remembered because I've received more reviews alerts on my email and I was like 'oh shit! I forgot the fanfic! I'm torturing the readers!' So, to redeem myself I'll reply to all reviews to chapter 9, okay? **

lunaeve – Thank you soooo much!

twitching on the floor: You don't have make a big deal out of it. It's just a fanfic, not a best seller. LOL.

Flame of Chaos/ Elyn– I'm glad I got the job too! I can't believe I'm actually a screenwriter! OMG! But anyway, stay calm about Dan/Sam romance. She does love him, she just realized she loves him as much as she loves Danny because they're the same person, but from different times.

Punker88 – I hope it works, tôo! I'm so excited about it! Thank you for reviewing.

hamanor12 – I can't believe I'm actually getting everything I ever wanted. I love it when you cheer for me! Oh, by the way I think I bumped on you on Live Video. I'm going to invite you to be my friend there. Stay alert for a crazy Vivi showing up on your channel.

Japanese-Fanatic – Thank you so much for the compliments! And I'm sorry for making you wait so long! I'll try to write next chapter faster. I swear I don't have a writer's block. You'll see the end.

Crazy Freckles – Thank you! Thank you!

Kyrada – I can't believe I find time to write fanfics as well, but I'm addicted to them; I've been for about five years (I had another account and my English was horrible!) and I just love Danny Phantom. Actually, lately I've turned fanfic into a plot experiment, whenever works here, the jokes, gags and whatever else I keep it for a potential screenplay.

the wicked end – Thank you! I'm so glad you like it so much! Now I'm feeling really bad to make you wait so long for an update. I'm a horrible person X(

Scarlett Ward – Well, we don't have a title for the sitcom, yet, but unfortunately it will air only in Brazil for now (maybe in Portugal if another channel buys it). And now about the fic: nope, Dan and Danny don't feel each other emotions or anything of the kind. They are the same person, but from different times, so I'm working on them as two different people. They just happen to have a few things in common like their endless possessive feelings for Sam. And you see? Your theory was right!

cottongirl619 – Yep, it's a new one, at least we never had a big sitcom produced here in Brazil, just one 'til today and now the channels want new shows so they decided to invest in sitcoms.

Black tears – I should have updated sooner, shouldn't I? I swear I won't make you wait another month!

Frumkin – The sitcom is still unnamed and the channel is Globo Digital, unfortunately I don't think anybody outside Brazil will have access to that. And you know what? I didn't know a girl could orgasm from that small touch but I had a living proof – author runs off blushing madly-

cutereviewgirl – Hello there! You're amazing you review all chapters! I love you for it! Well, I think you weren't much surprised for what happened in this chapter were you? Just you wait to see what's coming for Danny!

RedRoseRebel – Thank you! I'm so glad you like it!

Chaos Dragon – You know what? My dream since I was a child was to work in a cartoon series. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll work in something like that! They say the first step is always the hardest and maybe now I'm walking towards DP shows (if it's not cancelled…) but… nah, I'm dreaming too much.

starrobin4eva – Rich and famous? Oh I wish! Lol! Even if I don't get anywhere with this writing thing I still will remember you guys, don't worry about it. I mean, you guys are the ones who inspire me to write in the first place! If I ever work on something that airs on TV I will mention everyone here!

curiositykilledthesquirrel1... – Thank you! I still think it's a great responsibility and I'm afraid to mess up, but well, I will try. Thank you so much for your support.

Lunaqua – I will finish this story, don't worry about it. It's a very exciting job but I don't think I'll ever stop a fanfic in the middle. You'll see the ending for everything I post here. I promise.

MyUsedRomance – Lol. I still blush when someone mentions the orgasm scene, but yea that means something. It's more subjective, but basically it's Sam recognizing Dan and Danny as the same person.

Morbid Ice Princess – Thank you so much and I'm so glad you like the fanfic!

Fire Nymphe – Oh so you read my home page! You're the first! Well, now, to answer your question: really I don't like children, they make me mad as hell I really don't have any patience with them, also I don't want a relationship because I don't think a relationship can last. I never dated the same guy three times because I get bored with the same face and the same kisses, I don't know. BUT I write for the others, not to myself, I write what people like to read and what they like to believe. I'm a story teller and even if I have to tell a story about fairies it doesn't mean I believe in fairies. It's just a nice story and in the imagination everything lives, even my non-existent belief in everlasting things. Does that make sense?

gothangel12345 – I hope everything will start becoming clear from my now. If you have any questions about the plot you can ask me and either I'll try to answer them in the chapter or I will send you a private answer, okay?

Conny14Sam – Are you still puzzled? LOL. Thank you so much for reviewing!

Ginny of Queenscove – Lol, poor Sam, poor Danny and even poor Dan! Wow! Now I feel really mean with them all! Oooh but I enjoy being mean! Mwahahaha!

Blackrose33856 – I'm so glad you like it!!!! hehehe

Brittany Brown – You know pregnancy will be discussed here but I won't tell you if Sam will end knocked up… BUT you can imagine the mess it would make. Hehehe.

Coyote's Shadow – I'm going to finish it, I promise!


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven**_

****

**AN - This chapter wasn't spell checked yet so you will probably find more mistakes than usual. Sorry, but I'm still working on improving my English.**

"No, please don't do it... please..."

Dan could have had a stroke when he heard those words coming from Sam's bleeding lips. He had just phased through the exit door when he heard her begging. He immediately recalled the fateful day when he saw her dying through Clockwork's time portal.

He stood there for five seconds, feeling the icy chill running through his body, freezing his limbs in place. He had never been so scared in his life. He couldn't lose her like that. She didn't deserve such fate!

Even with his almost powerless body, Dan felt a blinding anger, furious desire to kill that man on the spot. Like a beast that had just being awakened inside of him, he literally flew towards the man.

Nobody hurt _his_ Sam.

Everything happened very quickly. A sudden pulse of energy ran through his body, giving him the change to grasp it and shot the powerful ghost ray towards the man's chest, making him fly across the street. Blood flew several feet around them, painting Sam's beautiful dress in red and covering his right arm completely.

Sam was too weak from shock, from panic, from being almost raped and the pain on her wrist. She screamed when she saw the man knocked out several feet away from her and her knees immediately buckled, making her slip from the wall behind her.

Dan didn't even want to think of what had just happened. He had killed humans before, but somehow there was a hesitating feeling on his gut when he realized what he had just done. Maybe the guy wasn't dead, just badly hurt. He looked at Sam and saw her crying desperately as she slowly slipped to the floor. He ran to her and picked her up. Her arms immediately sneaked around his neck and he set her down on the floor.

"Murderer…"

Dan lifted his eyes to see his younger self, holding an unconscious Valerie in his arms (he finally decided that knocking her down was the best way to end the fight), staring at him with blinding hate. Danny put Valerie on the ground and stood up again, ready to have the last battle with his older self. Danny's anger was beyond imaginable at the moment. When he saw his older self holding Sam while she was hurt and covered in blood he knew what had happened. He had found Sam with another man and lost control.

"_You don't know what you're talking about._" Dan growled, like an animal, holding Sam closer to his chest, protectively. But at that moment Dan was just a wounded beast. Maybe he was obsessed with the girl, maybe Danny was right and he really was a murderer. He had always been, he had hurt many innocent people, he had done a lot of things Sam would never approve and it gave him all the doubts he was having now.

"Step away from her now!" Danny shot angrily with a voice that he could barely recognize. His fists were shaking and his eyes were glowing neon green. His ice powers were getting out of control, freezing the ground where he stood, the walls near him and the street lamps.

"_What an annoying brat._" Dan said, knowing it was best to take their fight somewhere else or Sam would end up hurt as well. She was already shivering from the cold emanating from Danny so he had to be careful. Dan tried to stand up, but Sam's arms held him tightly around his neck. "_I'll be back in a moment._" He said reassuringly on her ear, but she still didn't let go.

Sam couldn't speak, the pain she was in was unbearable and she couldn't even form words, but she knew she couldn't let go of Dan just like that. She couldn't let him fight with Danny. She didn't want any of them to end up hurt. But Dan was stronger than she could ever be and he forced her arms from around him being careful to not touch her broken wrist.

He'd take her to a hospital after he was done dealing with Danny. He could see in her eyes how exhausted she was. She was about to pass out from everything that had happened and she needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. He had to end that fight quick. Now that she had been saved, that nobody was going to kill her and that she was safe and sound for many years to come he had to make sure she wasn't going through any more pain.

But he had accomplished his mission. There was no reason to fight Danny at all. Nothing made sense anymore. He had a goal and now there was nothing left. He had escaped Clockwork's to save Sam's life and now it was over for him.

"_Let's postpone this fight._" Dan started saying. "_She needs to go to a hospital right now._" He explained, but as soon as he took one step away from Sam and towards Danny he got a full blast on the chest.

"You. Die. Today." Danny said through gritted teeth, ready to fire another blast. To defend himself the best he could Dan tried to build up a blast himself, but his hands wouldn't glow with energy, his body was completely drained. "You murdered Alex and beat Dash as well." That wasn't a question. Danny accused him for all problems that had happened in Amity Park in the last months.

Sam looked from Danny to Dan, realizing that what Danny had said was probably true.

Dan couldn't deny the accusations. He had been so blind with jealousy and fear that Sam was going to be hurt that he didn't think twice before ending Alex's life as well as beating Dash into coma. He knew now that he had overreacted and that his actions had hurt Sam as well.

Dan tried to form the blast once more, but it was useless, before he could do anything, he was hit once more, this time by Danny's freezing powers, which froze his body from waist below, crashing him into the club's wall, cracking it open.

They heard screams inside the club. Sam turned around to look at the walls coming down, raising dust and smoke, trapping people inside and probably killing some of them. She stood up, thinking of a way to get inside and help those people, but there wasn't a single opening.

She expected Danny to completely drop the fight, go intangible and start helping the wounded out of the place before another tragedy happened, but to her surprise, Danny didn't even flinch, he kept staring at his older self as if blind with rage.

Sam realized that the one who was actually in danger of loosing the battle was Dan. It was like they had switched places. Danny was the evil one trying to kill while Dan got beaten, refusing to attack back. She looked from Danny to Dan, one was attacking in a feral way while the other bled, stuck in an ice cube and couldn't even defend himself.

Her eyes watered when she saw Dan's lips bleeding.

"Danny, don't!" She screamed on top of her lungs, but Danny ignored her.

Danny fired an ecto-blast, the most powerful one he could fire.

Before both Danny and Dan realized what was happening, Sam ran in between them, jumping in front of Dan and taking the blast in his place. Slowly, she fell on her knees, crying out in pain.

Dan saw as her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him very gently and rested her cheek on his frozen chest.

Danny's eyes widened when he saw what had just happened. Sam, the girl he dearly loved, had sacrificed herself to protect the man he hated. It was _his_ blast she had taken. He was the one responsible for the deep cuts on her back and shoulders.

If she was a ghost she'd have been pulverized right now!

'_What have I done?'_ He screamed in his mind. He had hurt Sam! Sam! He was the one always protecting her and now he hurt her! He had never lost control of his anger before. How did that happen?

"He saved me." Danny heard Sam saying in a weak voice. He was in complete loss of words. She stood up and turned her head to look at him in the eyes, but her arms remained wrapped around his older self. "I don't want any of you hurt." She whispered quietly, but it was loud enough for both of them to hear. And then she closed her eyes and fell on the floor, unconscious.

"Sam!" Danny screamed, but before he could ran to her, Dan broke free from the ice he was trapped in with a sudden blast of energy that he thought had been completely drained.

"_We will finish this another time._" Dan said, but his voice didn't show any will to fight. He bent down and picked Sam up in his arms, carefully to not hurt her even more.

"You leave, but she stays, she needs to go to a hospital!" Danny said, frowning at his enemy.

Dan didn't dignify him with an answer. He concentrated, trying to become invisible, but somehow he couldn't. He concentrated on flying but his feet didn't even lift an inch from the floor.

He was completely powerless now.

The sirens in the background brought both of them to the reality around them. There was an almost dead man on the other side of the street, a night club had fallen down on the guests and the street they had been fighting in was completely destroyed. They had hurt too many innocent people in one night.

"_I'm taking her to the hospital. You stay here and rescue these people._" Dan finally said and Danny shut his jaw tightly, knowing it was his responsibility to save everybody trapped inside, but it didn't make any easier to watch Sam's limp form disappear in the darkness as her lover carried her in his arms.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam opened her eyes several hours later. She stared at the white ceiling above her in confusion. She tried to move her arms and winced slightly when she realized her wrist had been immobilized.

The events before she passed out flashed in her memory like a movie and her eyes widened in realization. She had intervened in Dan and Danny's fight! People were hurt! She had been almost raped!

She looked around, realizing she was in a hospital bed. She was also wearing a white long shirt. She sat up, feeling a small pang in the wounds and bruises on her back, but she ignored the pain and looked towards the door, only to find a man wearing a baseball hat asleep in a chair.

There were no IV's or any kind of medical equipment tying her to the bed, so she carefully moved her legs to the floor and stood up. The crust on her wrist really was the only thing that indicated she had been through treatment.

Her movement woke the man up; he lifted his head a little disoriented to look at her. When he realized she was standing, he quickly crossed the room and held her tightly in his arms.

It was when Sam realized that the man was Dan.

"What? But… human clothes? How?" She asked, completely bewildered. When he gave her an unreadable look and didn't answer her questions she remembered how awkward their situation really was. When they had last seen each other last even talked to each other he was deceiving her into believing he was a lover in the dark.

They never had a chance to actually talk why they had slept with each other for so many weeks. They never had a chance to say they were sorry and he still didn't even explain how he had gone from heartless villain to warm lover.

She hadn't known she was sleeping with him, but he knew it was her from the start.

And still he wasn't someone she was completely comfortable with right now. He had been their most feared enemy, how could she just start talking to him so casually?

He was a man of few words and one look from him could tell her more than a thousand books could ever describe. So basically it was in her hands to make the conversation as light as possible, to easy down the atmosphere around them and to make everything between them as clear as water.

She let her eyes scan him. The baseball hat covered his white hair and since his eyes were now permanent blue (last time she saw him they were green) there was no reason to hide them. He was wearing a plain jacket showing that he still wore his uniform underneath. Also he was wearing jeans and tennis shoes. He looked handsome and more like Danny than ever. Amazingly, his skin had gone from ghost greenish to pale human color.

"You look good." She said before she could stop herself, even though she was really confused about his eye and skin color changes. He didn't react at her comment, he didn't even blink. The seriousness of the situation made him become a statue with no sign of lightening up. "Those clothes…You didn't steal them, did you?" Sam smiled at him coyly and finally she got him to relax his hard face.

"_I borrowed them from some store._" He answered, making her smile and once again fall into an uncomfortable silence.

"For how long was I out?" She asked quietly, sitting on the hospital bed once more while he stood up before her, close enough to touch her, but still keeping half an inch between them, as if it was safer this way.

"_The whole night._" He answered, but he realized that it wasn't enough of explanation, that she deserved more than a couple of words from him. "_Aside from your broken wrist you don't have any serious injury, but the doctor asked to keep you here during the night, for observation._" That was the longest line he had ever said to her.

"We need to get out of here." Sam said, sighing. "We need to talk and this isn't the best place."

"_I don't have my powers anymore. I can't go invisible or fly._" He explained, a little uneasy about his defenseless situation. Power was something that made him feel protected since he had gotten it, but now he didn't even know if it was possible to get them back.

"Then I'll check myself out." Sam said, turning around to fetch the clothes she had been wearing the night before, but she stopped when she remembered they had been covered in blood.

"_There._" He said, throwing her a black shirt and skirt. "_I figured you'd need those._"

Sam was surprised that he would even think she'd need clothes once she woke up. And now that she came to think of it, she was also surprised that he was the one taking care of her and not Danny for once.

It was almost surreal to see the person she had feared in the past years become her lover and then completely change his personality, becoming someone caring, someone who was actually standing by her while she recovered from her injuries, someone she could talk to.

Indeed he was very different, but she realized how different her own reaction and thoughts to him had changed now that was standing face to face with him. It was like she had romanticized what she had with her lover in the dark and now that she could see his face something inside her made her hold back all the lust that had been slowly getting out of control.

She wasn't going to jump on him before talking to him this time.

"Thank you." She said awkwardly, and then she turned around to change, looking for a loo so he wouldn't have to leave the room.

He had seen her naked before. He had touched her naked body before. So what was the matter in changing in front of him? Inspired by a sudden lack of modesty, she stripped right there in front of him glad that she had panties on.

Dan hardened his face again, but he didn't look away from her. He stared at every little movement until she once more decently covered.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Danny, please you must tell me what happened. How come Sam ended hurt?" Tucker asked Danny who was sitting on his bed, looking blankly at his rocket posters on the wall.

"It was his entire fault, Tuck." Danny said, looking down to the ground. For a moment, Tucker thought he was going to cry, but instead, Danny looked up to stare straight at him; his eyes were deep neon green. He looked dangerous. "I'm not going to let him get away with it."

"Was it Dan's fault? Did he hurt her?" Tucker seemed to not fully believe in it, but he didn't let Danny see that he had doubts. Danny's eyes made him look scary, like Dan himself.

"If he had never shown up we wouldn't be in this situation. I could have taken care of Sam and she would never get hurt! I don't want him near her anymore." For a second there, Tucker was taken aback by a sudden flash of red in Danny's eyes. "I don't want anyone near her. Not my older self, not Victor. No one."

"Dude, you're creeping me out." Tucker warned Danny, whose features immediately relaxed. Danny looked away, trying to hide the little shame he felt for his confession of possessiveness.

His desire to have Sam to himself was beyond control now. His heart was bleeding since he saw her making out in the back of the club. He was in the middle of a fight with Valerie, his ex-girlfriend, when he saw everything and immediately he felt like his heart had been ripped out. It wasn't the first time she had given him that feeling and it wasn't pleasant.

When he saw Sam in someone else's arms, his feelings for Valerie vanished like a puddle of water in the desert and he knocked her down, to finish the fight and immediately go down there and take Sam home with him. But he had been too late. When he was ready to get her she was already crying in his older self's arms.

Even when he gathered all his strength, even when he fought with all his heart and even when he was the kindest person on Earth he wasn't good enough to impress her. She would always be with someone before he even showed her he was also an option.

That situation was getting the best out of him. He didn't like the feeling of losing his best friend – the girl he convinced himself he truly loved – and it was making him frustrated to the point of losing control over his powers and his temper.

Even Vlad warned him that he should control his temper, but he never realized how troublesome it could be. He never felt so much anger towards everybody and nobody at the same time. He wanted to take out his stress in the first person that crossed his way, he could actually do something he'd regret if the whole situation with Sam wasn't solved soon.

"This is what I'm going to do." Danny said quietly, more to himself than to Tucker. "I'll get my older self out for a fight and finish him off once for all. Then, I'm going to make Sam give me a chance."

"What are you going to do about Victor? He and Sam obviously got something going on." Tucker pointed out. He too was a little uncomfortable about Victor, but not as much as Danny was.

"Victor has been taken care of." Danny replied after a moment of silent. He sighed and chuckled after saying that.

Tucker didn't understand his friend's strange behavior and didn't dare voice any more questions.

**This is a quick update while AVID render my movie so I can start editing. Finally, after months I can finish this short film! I'm so tired of it! Anyway, thank you for the reviews and I'm sorry I don't while the time to reply them all today, but I will next. **

**And talking about next, there's a huge Dan x Sam moment coming. Everything is coming out and clear. Here's a teaser: **

"Could you stay for the night?" She asked him quietly. "One last night? Please?"

**Okay, so now that've tortured you enough I can go. Cya!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve**_

**AN - And again, this chapter wasn't spell checked. Sorry everyone, but I decided to post it or else there would be more delays and you don't like to wait, do you?... :)**

"_Your room didn't change much._" Dan said, walking around in Sam's room. She stood still by the door, looking at him as he observed every little detail. "_You used to have a red bed._" He said, looking down at her bed as if he was remembering her lying there, asleep. "_I watched you sleep once, did you know that?_" He asked, lifting his face to glance at her. She smiled at him, waiting for him to continue. She obviously didn't know that. "_It was about a week before the C.A.T. I wanted borrow your notes, but when I came over I found you asleep and I think I stared for a while before going back home._"

Now, he was being very talkative. Sam could see in his eyes that he relaxed when he entered her room; the room that brought many good memories of his teen hood. She took a deep breath as she saw him walking around with his blue eyes and messy black hair and a touch of boyish charm on the way he walked. She couldn't surpass a smile when she realized that she was looking at how Danny was going to look like when he grew up.

"I didn't know that." She smiled sadly at him, finally moving from her spot on the door to sit down on her bed. The silence fell over the room as she sat down and he remained standing up, looking down at her, waiting for her to say whatever she needed to say. "Did you become human again?" She asked quietly.

"_No. I may look human, but…_" He looked down at his fingers. They had been bruised and had some small cuts on them because of the fight the night before. He straightened his hand so she could see that instead of dry blood, his fingers were oozing green ectoplasm. "_This isn't a human body. That body was killed many years ago, it can't just return from death._"

"I see. In a way you're still a ghost." She breathed heavily in disappointment. She didn't know if she was really expecting him to turn human again, but to find he was still an immortal ghost while she was a human girl made her realize that indeed that dream fantasy that had been going between them would come to an end. "I had so many questions, but… they all seem pointless now."

"_What do you mean?_" He asked, looking straight at her. His piercing blue eyes looked at her with conviction; there was no trace of the shy look Danny would give her now and then.

"I wanted to know why you wouldn't tell me your name at first. But I understood your reasons and fears as soon as I found out who you really were. Then I wanted to know why you'd make love to me and why your eyes would change colors and why you didn't fight Danny anymore and how you've gone from a monster to a sweet and caring lover."

"_I don't have all those answers._" He replied quietly, never looking away. He didn't care that she had called him a monster, he indeed had been one, but in a way he didn't feel like one anymore. "_All I can say is that it felt right to be with you._"

"I know." Sam smiled at him. "I have the answer now. I believe you've been redeemed." She stood up, her smile was slowly becoming a grin and he watched her warily.

"_I'm not harmless if that's what you're implying._" Dan said in a serious tone. "_I haven't become a good person. I hate my younger self. I can still kill people even without my powers. I probably killed someone yesterday._" He stopped for a moment and looked at the window. "_I still feel so much anger._"

At that moment, Dan heard a baby crying in the next room. He frowned and looked at Sam who flashed him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. It was a mix of satisfaction, seduction and happiness. He was in a total loss of words at that sight. She slowly stood up and quietly walked out of her room, leaving him standing there, staring at the empty doorframe.

Seconds later the cry stopped and he heard baby giggles instead. Then Sam showed up in the door frame again holding the small infant in her arms with a motherly smile. Dan smiled, too. The picture before him was certainly Sam's future. She'd grow up, have babies and live a happy life. That's what she deserved, but he wasn't the one that could give it to her.

"You may still feel anger." Sam suddenly said, stepping close to him. "But that's normal. Everybody does. You are free from all that revenge and evilness."

"_Sam…_" He sighed, taking a step towards her so he could put both his hands on her delicate pale shoulders. "_I'm beyond redemption._"

"You're wrong." She shook her head cutely, with her eyes closed for a moment before looking back up to keep the eye contact. He took that small fraction of moment to realize how long and curvy her eyelashes were. "You've redeemed yourself already. You saved me and… just look at you. The Vlad half in you was pushed back, probably even disappeared forever."

Dan stared at her not believing what he was hearing. He wasn't shocked, but bewildered. What he heard made him feel calm, relaxed and even with a rush of happiness growing stronger inside his chest.

"What I'm looking now is at the grown up Daniel Fenton." Sam said with a gentle smile. "My grown up best friend."

He was in complete loss of words. Nobody could have said more beautiful things to him. Nobody could say the things Sam said.

Out of nowhere, Lizzy giggled in Sam's arms making both Sam and Dan look down at her. She reached up her little hands and tried to touch Dan with a big happy smile. He could swear his heart skipped a beat, almost as if he was afraid of that small baby.

"Even she recognizes you." Sam said, lifting Lizzy up so he could hold her. He had never held a baby before and he was clumsy and scared that he could hurt her. But Lizzy smiled up to him when she was finally in his arms and reached up so she could hold his shirt.

The little infant didn't judge him for who he had been or who he was trying to be now. For Lizzy he wasn't evil or good. He was just… Danny. Maybe that was exactly how Sam felt about him. He was someone who could be trusted with the task of holding her in his arms.

He looked down at his hands on Lizzy, those hands that looked like human, but were mere a ghost shell. He blinked once. Twice. He sighed. When he looked at his hands again he saw them flash invisible for a second.

For a split second he was hopeful that his powers were returning, but then he realized what had happened there. He wasn't getting his ability to become invisible back. He was slowly starting to disappear.

He quickly looked up to Sam and made her hold Lizzy, who had fallen asleep as he unconsciously rocked her. Sam smiled and took the baby back to her room, returning immediately after. She was cheerful, looking down at her face Dan was sure that she was about to start singing and jumping around like a teenager that had just fallen in love.

Sam's sudden burst of happiness came to a quick end when she looked at Dan in the face and realized he wasn't smiling, that he didn't even look happy.

"What happened?" She asked gently, placing a hand on his cheek, lifting his eyes to meet hers. She could read him like an open book now. He had resolution in his eyes. He had just made a very important choice and he looked like no one could stop him from doing what he had to do.

"_I want you to stay with _him." Dan said, pushing her hands away from his face and turning his back on her. He didn't have to give her a name. She knew he was talking about his younger self. She gave him a confused look, suddenly feeling all the happiness being washed away by fear of losing him. "_I'm doomed anyway. See?_" He lifted his transparent hand to her. Her eyes widened in shock and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to surpass a sob. "_You must help him before he becomes me._"

Sam lowered her gaze to the ground and nodded, letting her tears fall. For a second there, she was sure she was going to live with him forever; that he wouldn't leave her ever again. But all had to come crashing down in the next moment. She knew it wasn't possible for a ghost and a human to romance, but for a small moment she had thought that maybe it could work.

"I understand." She said quietly. "It had to happen eventually, right?"

Dan nodded and started walking towards the window. He knew he couldn't fly out of there, but he was idle to feel the sensation of the breeze in his face. He had to find something to look at; something that wasn't Sam's grief.

"_I have to fight him. We started a duel and we have to finish it._" He explained, getting desperate to get out of there as if it would help relief a bit the melancholic atmosphere. If he didn't look at her anymore then he could go and fight and maybe even throw good punches before disappearing, but if he looked at her all his motivation would go downstream, lost in the river of the woes.

"Could you stay for the night?" She asked him quietly. Her voice didn't give him any indication that she was crying so he turned around to verify. She had just wiped the last tear away when she had said that and she was offering him a smile that surely was hurting her. "One last night? Please?"

How could he deny a girl that was about to drown in the loneliness of life once again? He was almost bursting inside to touch her since they were in the hospital but he thought it would hurt more to say goodbye after giving in their yearnings. But she had almost begged now…

He gently pressed his lips to hers. They remained there, not moving for several seconds, just savoring the texture and the feel of each others lips, trying to memorize them. All the rush and passion had melted in sweet love and care. This time it wasn't about going wild, frenetic even. This time they would take it slow and make it last forever.

He let go of her and sat on the bed, turning off the bedside lamp. Sam quickly turned the lamp on again, sitting down on his lap, straddling him and hugging him tightly. In his arms, she could only think how much she loved him. She had really fallen for him in the end.

"Let's leave the lights on this time."

"_Are you sure?_" He asked quietly and she nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a chase kiss on his lips.

"I love you, Danny."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam woke up in her bed the next morning feeling free, happy and loved. She didn't reach other to the pillow next to hers because she knew her lover wasn't there. She wasn't ready to feel the cold pillow just now.

"_I remember now…_" He had whispered in her ear in afterglow. "_I remember all the precious things I had forgotten long ago._" He had leaned in and softly brushed her lips with his, barely touching. "_Precious_." It was like he had just learned the real meaning of that word. He had finally remembered the meaning of kindness and love.

Her body was warm and her lips were sensitive. Each time his kisses would become gentler. His kisses that night had been completely different from the ones in their first night. Those must have been the gentlest kisses he had given her and each time their lips touched she'd get even more enchanted by him.

He had held her tightly the whole night, stroking her hair and saying her name countless times. Even if once he had been a villain, even if he had been mean to others, even if he had killed those who seemed a threat. Even with his forceful attitude he had made her happy and she had no reason at all to resist him…

… after all he had always been her best friend.

Sam lazily showered and got dressed. She was procrastinating as much as she could the fact that she would eventually have to leave her house and go find Danny and see if he was hurt. She figured by that time, considering how early Dan had left, that the battle was already over and he was forever gone.

When she thought of that tears immediately started falling from her eyes, but she didn't stop combing her hair while she cried. She looked down at the cabinet and opened a drawer to get a Morning After pill because she had stopped her birth control treatment weeks ago, thinking she would never sleep with him again. She stopped before she could completely open the package and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes wandered to her belly and she imagined herself pregnant with his child.

She could keep a part of him.

Reluctantly, she closed the package again and hid it in the cabinet.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Danny was frustrated and furious. His lip was bleeding and his fists were swollen because of the many punches she had thrown in his older self. He wanted to fight like a ghost, but his enemy no longer could transform himself so Danny decided that it was fair to have an equal fight; both powerless.

They had just stood there, glaring each other for about five minutes before Danny remembered the night he had seen Sam with his older self and the anger took the best out of him, making him throw the first punch. He didn't think he was beating up a man who had done evil in the past, who had killed a singer and put other two teens in a hospital just because they had gone near Sam. To Danny, he was punching the man who had stolen Sam from him.

He had thrown his share of punches and his older self was just defending himself, which only made Danny even angrier. Dan had blood dripping from his chin and a huge pain on his stomach from several blows, but he couldn't complain really. His mind was somewhere else, while his body was consumed in pain, he wasn't aware of it.

He was feeling very light since that morning when he woke up to find Sam curled up on his side. Her legs were tangled with his; her hair was all over his chest while she had her head pillowed on his shoulder. Her expression was of such tranquility that all his worries about fading away like smoke just vanished from his mind. She had given him more than he could ask for and he was happy that he could pass on experiencing such things.

She had been his most treasured gift and now he felt he was complete, that he could go without regrets. While he was slowly getting up from her bed he realized it was the last time he was going to do it. His last memory of her would be her sleeping face and not breaking down and crying. In a way it would be a nice goodbye.

While sitting beside her his legs flashed invisible for a second and he bit his tongue. He had to make it to Danny and have their promised fight. It was more like a symbolic fight, really, because Danny would win anyway, after all Danny would remain and eventually get the girl while he was doomed to vanish from the only plan of existence he had ever known.

Would there be something beyond or would it be just… the end? Would he float forever in the universe or would he lose his conscience and just disappear? Whatever was there, he wasn't afraid of it anymore.

If only his passing wouldn't break her heart everything would be perfect, but like every goodbye it would hurt, but eventually she'd have someone there to heal her wounds.

He smiled while his body was receiving Danny's furious blows. In his mind he pictured his last time with Sam. She had kissed and hugged him. They had truly made love that night and not just sex. It had been something else. They had found something precious together that night; it was something both of them felt in their afterglow, but couldn't describe. Completeness? Trust in its purest form? Or was it Love? The big L?

While their new discovery lingered through their tired bodies, Sam switched their positions so she was lying on top, hugging him with her legs and arms and every part of their bodies touching. Before he fell asleep, he let her hands explore his chest and let her lips kiss his. Her hands slowly found their way to his and they intertwined their fingers. Their lips caressed each other until he fell asleep.

"Fight back, damnit!" Danny shouted angrily, seeing his enemy becoming transparent. "Don't play the victim here because we both know you're not!"

They were fighting in the middle of the park, but since it was very early in the morning, it was completely empty. It was a good thing to not have witnesses in there to see the desperate fight because Danny wasn't feeling merciful and if someone tried to stop him he'd attack them, too.

His eyes were flashing red while he was consumed by his anger. It was becoming something completely unbearable. In his torment, he had completely forgotten the point of the fight. All that mattered to him was to cause that man standing in front of him as much pain as possible.

Neither Dan nor Danny had heard rushed steps coming their way.

"You must die now!" Danny shouted and from his shout came the Ghostly Wail, even if he wasn't in his ghost form. Dan was taken by surprise and fell on the ground several feet away from where he had been standing. Danny didn't even blink. He watched as his older self hit the ground, breaking all this inhuman bones and crying in pain.

Dan closed his eyes and looked away from Danny, trying to focus on trees around him, so the last thing he would see wouldn't be his attacker. His eyes came to rest on a pair of boots that stood a few feet away from him. He looked up following the legs and finally, he reached Sam's face. He didn't want her to see him dying like that. He didn't want her to see his greenish blood. And most importantly, he didn't want to see her cry.

To his surprise, she wasn't crying, and she didn't even walk in his direction, which he was glad for. Sam stared at him for a few seconds before she broke in a sad smile. Somehow her smile made all the pain go away and he was submerged in a river of numbness.

Sam watched sadly as his ghostly body slowly turned back human, his eyes were already blue, but his white hair changed to black. His pointy teeth became natural again and gradually he became younger and younger until he looked exactly like the seventeen years old Danny who was standing a few feet away from him.

"Thank you." He whispered, even if Sam couldn't hear him. She held her smile until he closed his eyes. His transparent body slowly started to fade away and she stepped close to him, trying to touch him one last time, but she didn't make it in time. He vanished right through her hands.

Sam sat there for what seemed forever. She didn't allow herself to cry, not as hysterically as she wanted, but she let one or two tears escape from the corner of her eyes. The soft breeze that ruffled her hair carried the smell of Danny's cologne, reminding her that he still stood there, behind her watching everything.

She stood up and looked at him. He stood still like a piece of wood, staring at her with cold red eyes. Those eyes she had only seen in her lover before he redeemed himself. Her heart tightened at the sight, fearing to lose Danny to the same emotions that made him change into Dan.

But Sam couldn't forgive Danny at that moment, no matter how much she would regret it later. She just couldn't speak to him. She needed time to mourn and think before she faced him again.

But she wouldn't go away without showing him that she still cared.

"Please, Danny…" She whispered quietly, standing right in front of him and reaching up to touch his cold cheeks and staring at his empty red eyes. "… you're a kind boy. I don't want to see you going through what Dan has. Don't forget that."

And then she turned around and walked away, leaving the park and leaving Danny standing there alone with a thousand thoughts running through his head, and not knowing exactly what he was feeling.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

Tucker realized he had missed the gathering storm when both Danny and Sam missed school the following day. Being Danny's best pal, he managed to convince him to go to school and explain everything that had happened right after the weekend.

Danny's attitude was a bit different. He was much quieter than he had always been and he wouldn't completely tell the story about what had happened; every time he was asked he answered just 'I got rid of him,' and 'it's over now.'

At first to Danny it was a really hard to understand why Dan took so long to fade away just like he did, but then he remembered that he had been locked inside the thermos inside Clockwork's timeless zone. The process of disappearance only started when he freed himself and went back to the place where clocks tickled. Becoming free had been his death sentence.

But even if Danny had shut down Sam was the one who had worried Tucker the whole week. She didn't show up for school, she didn't answer phone calls and the butler always said she wasn't home whenever he visited. Her attitude had been the same as a few weeks ago and Tucker was sincerely getting tired of it.

"I'm worried about Sam." Tucker said during lunch on the fifth day of class she had missed. Danny sat right across from him, barely touching his food. "Did she see whatever you did to Dan?"

"She just saw him go." Danny shrugged. "And please, let's stop talking about her."

"Why? Aren't you worried, too?" Tucker took Danny's lack of interest in Sam as a personal insult. It really hurt to see them like that. The trio talked every day, online, on the phone, face to face, whatever. They did not go through a day without chatting and suddenly they were all hurt and sensitive about other. Tucker feared if it would go longer they would drift apart forever.

"I don't want to think about her, okay? She just… disappointed me." Danny said, not looking up from his plate.

"Tell me." Tucker demanded, slamming both his hands on the table, catching Danny's attention to the seriousness of the situation. "You can't keep me in the dark much longer."

"She chose Victor in the end, that's what it is." Danny answered, very angry. Tucker sat down with his eyes wide, listening to every word. "She's just mourning her lover's death now, but she already made it very clear that as soon as she's okay again, she's going to run into the arms of that crippled bastard."

"Crippled?" The last part didn't make sense, but to Tucker it was very clear that Danny was having one more of his jealousy crises. He was ready to strike back a comment to ease the mood when Danny made his blood turn ice on his veins, he laughed coldly; it was an evil laugh, heartless even. It was the laugh of a villain, not of a hero.

"That's what I hope so."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam was lying on her bed caressing Lizzy's cheeks while she lay right beside her sound asleep. The radio was turned on in an old 70's station, playing some good blues records. Again, she hadn't felt like going to school and facing Danny. It was really hard to forgive him, even if it was inevitable and she couldn't look at Danny without thinking of his older self and that he was going to look exactly the same ten years from now.

It was too weird. She had lost him when he was older, but there was an alternative young version of him there – who had always been there. In a way she still had her lover, but without the intimate part, that was something she'd have to work on to built up again. It was like those strange tales that when a man becomes a baby again and is placed on his wife's arms to be taken care of.

Would she have to wait for him to grow up? Would she ever want to have him as a lover again? To lose him once was bad enough…

"Sam?" the butler, James, knocked on her door, but didn't wait for her reply to come inside. "Your teacher, Mr. Lancer, just called and said he finally changed your schedule. You won't have any classes with Mr. Fenton or Mr. Foley, but you'll have to have your lunch break at the sixth period… it means it will just be you in the cafeteria."

"Whatever… it's better that way." She replied quietly, burying her face on the pillow. She wasn't just in emotional pain, but somehow she was having a severe case of cramps even worse than the ones she had in her usual circle. She bit down her lips and hoped it was the sign of pregnancy.

"You know, he said something about missing the finals." James placed the new schedule over her dresser with a few books and notes. Those were from Tucker. Every day he would drop her homework and his own notes for her to keep studying.

If she didn't take the tests she'd be doomed to summer classes. She sat up as soon as James closed the door behind him and left. She opened her purple backpack and looked through her agenda. The tests would start the following week and the first thing on the list was her music class project. She was going to perform with Victor and they hadn't rehearsed, yet!

There was no way she could miss any more classes over a broken heart. She checked her watch and realized that if she hurried up she could make it to the third period, which was exactly music class according to her new schedule.

As she ran to school she checked the number of her new locker. She had requested to have it changed for a locker far away from Danny's.

The corridors were empty so she didn't feel the pressure of bumping into Danny somewhere. She quickly picked her books and transferred them to her new locker and waited ten minutes until music class started.

"Sam?" She turned around when someone called her name. Victor was standing right behind her, holding clutches to walk with his broken foot and with a huge bandage on his head.

"Oh my gosh, Victor, what happened?" She asked, very surprised to see that he had missed class, too.

"You… don't know?" He asked quietly, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Of course I don't. I haven't been in school for two weeks." Sam replied as if it was obvious. She was happy to see him, but his injuries worried her.

"You don't know what happened in the club?" Victor asked more specifically.

"Oh my!" Sam suddenly realized what he was talking about. "You were at the Underground's the day it collapsed?" That was unexpected. She had no idea Victor was a rebel, too. She had an empty feeling on her stomach. Because of the Danny and Dan's fight Victor could have died. He had nothing to do with the mess and he ended hurt!

"Yeah…" Victor answered, a bit uncertainly. Sam threw herself on him hugging him tightly around his shoulders and making him drop his clutches.

"I had no idea." She whispered, scared of what could have happened.

"Hey…" Victor placed a hand on her back very nervous and swallowed hard. "It's okay now." He smiled weakly at her, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. "You know, I was wondering if we still will performance that song in class."

"Of course! It's for next week so we better practice. Meet me after class?"

"Sure."

"You see…" She said, lifting her broken wrist. "Can you play the guitar at the performance? I can't play well with this cast."

"Yeah, no problem."

The students exited the classrooms and crowded the corridors and so their privacy was gone. Sam smiled at Victor and helped him pick up the clutches.

"Do you have Music Class now?" She asked him as they walked.

"Yeah." He answered quietly.

"We're in the same class now." She informed him. "I asked to have my schedule changed." She said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask her reasons for such request.

"I see." Yeah… it looked like Victor understood that she didn't want to talk about it.

They exchanged a quiet and awkward conversation as they went to the classroom, unaware that deep red eyes watched them the whole way.

"Oh wait." Sam said as she dropped Victor on his desk. "I forgot to fill my water bottle. I'll go quickly before class starts."

She felt Victor's eyes on her back, but didn't stop to ask what he wanted. He was behaving weirdly as if he was afraid to talk to her, but she shook the feeling off. It was probably her imagination. She felt people watching her; she listened to whispered voices and dreamed of Dan for the last days. She knew she was becoming paranoid because deep inside she still hoped that Dan would suddenly show up in her room, happy that she was bearing his child and somehow they would live happy even after.

But those were just thoughts and she didn't even know if she was pregnant yet. It was too early to be pointed out in a home pregnancy test.

"You choose Victor…" A deep ethereal voice whispered angrily in her ear, making her drop her full bottle on the floor. The corridor was empty once more and her breath caught on her throat. She slowly turned around to meet Danny in his ghost form staring at her in rage with deep red eyes.

"Danny…" She said his name quietly, frowning as she stared at the eyes she didn't recognize as her best friend's. She didn't relax under his heavy stare, but unconsciously she reached up to place both her hands on his cheeks. "Your eyes… what happened to you?"

"You disappointed me, Sam." He said in a quiet deadly voice.

"You're becoming him." She realized. Danny tried to step away from her, but she held him tightly. The fear she had felt suddenly disappeared as she worried about what was going to happen to her best friend. "You gotta control your emotions, Danny. Please." She wasn't the first to tell him that; Technus and Vlad had done the same, but in a mocking way so he didn't believe them. But now she had to make him believe that indeed it was dangerous to loose control like that.

"Take your hands off me or you lose them." Danny warned, gripping her wrists very hard, not even caring about her broken bone. Sam did her best to not flinch under his hard touch, but the pain brought tears to her eyes.

"I see…" Sam lowered her gaze to the floor, very intimidated by his stare. "I'm sorry it ended this way, but I believe there's hope for _you_ even if there's no hope for _us_." She said quietly and then rushed off to class with a bleeding heart.

Did Tucker know about Danny's sudden change? Her absence had caused many things. She realized that Danny didn't understand what mourning was, and even if he did under such state of mind, he did not appreciate it. If there was someone who Danny would confess his self struggling it was Tucker.

How much more heartache would Danny cause her? Either older or younger, he only seemed to cause pain and yet she dearly loved that boy. Her will to fight for his safety was enormous, but she was getting weaker and weaker each time she got one more deception. Her emotions were getting the best of her and she was tired. She was in physical pain and she hadn't slept in weeks. She was a wreck and Danny needed her strength. He would need her to her last breath.

As much as it would hurt she wouldn't let him become prisoner of his own weakness. She had fought this battle once and she knew she could win if she softened him up. She had prepared for months to come with something to show him her affection and make him understand what had happened between her and Dan and even if he wasn't going to watch her performance the next week, she'd somehow record it and send him her song.

The song was the only thing she had to offer him as an answer and apology. She had nothing else left.

"Ms. Manson? I would like to know what holds your attention away from this class." Her teacher said giving her an annoying look.

"I'm sorry." Sam said quickly, sitting up straight in her chair "I was just wondering if it's possible to record the song we're performing next week in a CD."

"I'm afraid to inform you that this is a school and not a studio. We don't have the adequate equipment for that; it costs a great deal." The teacher answered, making Sam stay quiet for a few seconds and think about the options she had within her reach.

"How much does it cost to rent a studio?"

oOoOoOoOoOo

When the bell rang, Tucker found Sam in a corridor as she made her way to her lunch period while he was supposed to head for another class. He wouldn't miss the opportunity to talk to her. Now she couldn't ignore him.

He found her sitting alone in the cafeteria, barely touching her salad. He sat down in front of her and she slowly lifted her eyes to glare at him, obviously not happy for the intrusion.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Tucker asked, letting it be very transparent to her that he was hurt by her actions.

"I know you're going to ask about Dan and I don't want to talk about him." Sam shrugged. "Thanks for the homework by the way."

"I won't ask if you're still hurting." He said sincerely. "But you're not the only one involved in this."

"I'm hurting yes… I think it will always hurt. And Danny only seems to add more pain." She tightly shut her eyes. She wouldn't cry in front of Tucker. She was a strong girl and she rarely let her friends see her cry. She didn't need a shoulder to cry on. Ever.

"I'm concerned about Danny" He finally said, leaning back on the chair, watching her every move. It was obvious that she was making an effort to not drop a single tear as much necessary as it was. "He's acting weird and I'm suspicious that you know about this, after all you're the one who likes to research."

"Yeah, I think I know what's wrong with him… ghosts can be good and they can be evil. It depends on the subject that holds them to their ectoplasmatic form. If the subject of their obsession is easily reached they won't become frustrated and won't take it out on the living, but if the subject is a difficult one, the frustration can build up and eventually become a very dangerous matter." She said, reaching for her backpack and picking her diary up. She had pictures of the three of them and a lot of notes she had made about ghosts and the entire description of the encounters she had with Dan.

"What are you talking about?" Tucker frowned, having a bit of difficulty to follow her thoughts. "Danny's not a ghost. He's just a halfa."

"Psychology applies to ghosts, humans and halfas, too." Sam said, showing him a picture of Dan in the last encounter she had with him, while he was wearing human clothes and had baby blue eyes. Tucker was very shocked to see the sudden change. "With ghosts their emotions are connected to their powers and it may cause them to lose control, just like Dan in the alternative timeline. Everybody died and he could no longer find love. Love was his obsession and when I gave it to him, he calmed down. The change wasn't just in his personality, but in his appearance, too."

"Well, it makes sense." Tucker agreed. "Did you come to this conclusion by yourself?" He grinned, admiring the brilliancy of his best friend.

"It wasn't very hard after observing him for a while." Sam shrugged, closing the diary and holding it tightly to her chest. "I wasn't sure about it so I needed to test my theory and so I lured him out, I brought Dan back to me by threatening our love and he came running to me. As I showed him what love was, by sleeping with him, kissing him or simply holding him the color in his eyes started changing and he became our Danny again."

"So, you're saying that Danny is losing control of his powers because he too has a subject that he is obsessed with." Tucker took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with his shirt. "If he's losing control, it means that the subject is becoming unreachable."

"Exactly." Sam nodded.

"Well, I know what his subject is." Tucker grinned widely. "It's you. He's angry because he thinks there's no chance you'll ever like him like you liked his older self."

"I sort of figured that out." She blushed and looked down, trying to hide her face with her hair. She didn't know if she should feel scared or flattered that Danny liked her so much that she would become his obsession. In a way it meant she would have to be attached to him forever in order to keep him from losing his mind.

She loved him a lot, the love she had always known she felt for him never disappeared; if possible it became even stronger when she and Dan were together. But it scared her that someday she would stop loving him and couldn't be by his side anymore and he'd be the victim of her selfishness. It was possible to stop loving someone because love didn't happen just once as most people believed. She had loved two men at the same time.

Indeed she was very close at stop loving Danny, after his attitude a couple of hours ago.

"Then it's easy to keep Danny in control." Tucker laughed. "You just have to date him. That's what you always wanted, right?" His laughed eventually died down and he saw Sam's tense expression. "Right?" He insisted, but when she didn't answer him he understood what Danny had been telling him for the past weeks. He leaned forward and took Sam's hands in his. "Are you getting serious with Victor?"

"What?" Sam snapped out of her thoughts and stared at Tucker in disbelief. "Who said I was with Victor in the first place? We're friends."

"You don't have to lie, Sam. I understand if you want to date him. We'll just have to think of something else to keep Danny from going nuts on us."

"No, seriously." Sam lifted both her hands up to shut Tucker up. "Who said I was going out with Victor?"

"Danny saw you guys together." Tucker shrugged. "He was telling me about it one of these days. It was when he started acting weird, mind you."

"Well, Victor and I are together a lot because we need to practice our song for Music Class, but we never did anything else other than a casual hug here and there. We hug, too Tuck and it doesn't make us a couple." She explained slightly annoyed. So she wasn't allowed to be friends with guys without dating them anymore?

"No, Danny didn't say you were hugging. He said you were making out… quite… heavily." Tucker said, almost afraid that she would jump on his neck and strangle him.

"Maybe Danny saw Victor with someone and thought it was me." Sam frowned, thinking if there was any possibility that she had hugged Victor in a way that in a different angle someone would mistake them for making out. She was pretty sure she had never been that close to him.

"He said that Dan saw you guys, too and 'crippled' Victor. I assumed Dan was responsible for his broken bones." Tucker insisted. "He said you guys were together in the back of a club."

"But Victor? It wasn't Victor... it was…" And now that she thought about it she realized she had never seen the face of the guy who tried to rape her. The only thing she knew was that he was taller than she was; that he acted as if he knew her… and that he had called her by her name.

Sam's jaw dropped.

"Oh my gosh…"

"What?" Tucker was officially scared now. "Were you in a club with him? So it's true?!"

"It could be." Her answer only made Tucker more confused. She'd have to explain it all to Tucker and if she had the chance she had to explain it to Danny too, but at the moment she didn't have time for explanations. "Forget about it now. I have a plan to calm Danny down to a point we can talk to him. I was preparing a song for months to subtly explain to Danny my relationship with Dan hoping he would forgive me. I think this song will be the weapon to keep him in control long enough."

"And how do you plan to make him listen to your song? Danny and I don't take Music Class."

"Yeah, that's why I'll need your help."

**OMG I got this cute 40 days old yorkie yesterday! I'm in love with it.  
Anyway, thank you guys for reviewing the last chapters. There are only a few problems left to solve here, but I'll take it slowly, which means there are still two more chapters to go. I intend on posting them sooner than I've been posting the others to end this story at once. It's a long fic and you guys are still reading it! I almost can't believe it! You totally rock!**

**EDIT - Just decided to thank everybody who reviewed and answer some questions: **

cutereviewgirl **(have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy your reviews? Seriously! You don't skip one chapter! I totally love you for this! Thank you!)**

Kozumy Disgrace **(yep, I tried this new point of view, after all everybody used to see Dan just like a villain, forgetting that he had been Danny once.),**

luv2bamom,

Sheena ,

Remember The Darkness,

Brittany Brown **(you'll have to wait one more chapter to find if you'll get your wish or not. lol.)**,

mizu-tatsu **(hola chica! You're from mexico and I'm from brazil! Your english is good by the way!),**

Blackrose33856,

Corvinna,

MyUsedRomance,

Flame of Chaos **(lol, don't worry, Dan's memory will be honored. He won't die in vain!),**

starrobin4eva** (wow! you're still reading this! You totally get a medal for this! Thank you so much!)**,

Panic! i'm here ,

fantasy phantom,

RedRoseRebel,

eternalsolaris,

Spirit Chu,

Punker88,

b4k4 ch4n **(I tried to make it a remarkable goodbye for Dan and Sam. She loved Dan for being Danny even if they were slightly different. Now, that's the hard part for Sam; she'll have to show Danny exactly why she loved Dan.)**

hamanor12,

frumkin ,

gothangel12345,

Owl of the Night,

Goshikku Seirei,

Scarlett Ward **(I think I gave a good clue about the rape guy in this chapter, right? lol. And I'm switching Danny and Dan's places because I have this theory that Danny will never really be completely safe from going evil, like every human being.),**

Rishi-Rishi **(lol! more updates are coming even faster now!), **

animefreak1457,

Crazy Freckles,

angeltears14,

Ginny of Queenscove,

firenymphe ,

fantasy phantom,

LiLIndianPrinzess,

cottongirl619,

Chaos Dragon **(I tried to reply your review privatly, but I kept getting page erros. Anyway, it's awesome you're still reading this. I'm afraid the fic turned a bit different from what I was planning on the start, but I'm glad you're still reading. Humanoid Dan was a mix of Fenton and Phantom in the future. Actually, this is a small theory I tried to apply here. Dan is Danny's future no matter what, so if Danny changes his future Dan is bound to change with it. Just thought it would be nice.)**,

Spirit Chu,

so-jealous,

SkyAngel429,

Japanese-Fanatic,

Cloudy Glass,

Vampiressa Avril.

**And that's it! I'm sorry if I forgot to mention anyone, I tried to remember everybody from the last three chapters! I've been a lazy author, haven't I? I'm so sorry!**

**And since the story is ending, this is your chance to tell me if you liked it or if it sucks. Push the button below and tell me what you think. Lol.**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

Victor had arrived early on the day of the performance, bringing his guitar. His fingers were sore because he had practiced the whole night to not miss a single note of their song.

Sam was already standing in the middle of the empty classroom when he walked inside, gripping tightly on his clutches. He smiled at her, but she didn't return it. She didn't help him sit down on his desk like the day before and her eyes were bloodshot. Either she had been crying or she hadn't gotten any sleep that night. Maybe both.

"Good morning." He said, clumsily adjusting himself on his seat. "Are you ready for the performance?"

"Actually there's something much more important to discuss here other than the performance." Sam said quietly, walking towards him and sitting down two chairs away from his reach. Victor sat there quietly, listening to her. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued. "I don't want to cause any misunderstandings here and since I don't remember anything I'll have to fully trust you to be honest with me."

"Oh…" Was everything that he was able to say. He thought she had no evidence of what had happened the other night since she had no memories of it and he was much glad for it because she still considered him a friend. But how did she remember it so quickly?

"Was it you with me that night in the club?" She asked carefully, making sure he understood her every word. He opened his mouth but nothing came out and so she took the opportunity to hold her broken wrist up so he could see it properly. "Did you do this?"

"Sam… I'm sorry…"

"Was it you who slapped me in the face? The one who kissed me and offered me dope?" She continued, staring at his eyes like a jaguar about to attack the prey.

"I was high, okay? I couldn't control myself!" Victor defended himself; he wanted to stand up and grab her by the shoulder and make her believe that he was a gentle person, not the violent jerk she had seen that night.

"I smoked the same thing you did and I didn't break anybody's wrist." She replied, standing up and walking around the room. "Dope and alcohol aren't excuses. They only lower your inhibitions so you can do things you always wanted to."

"I would never attack you like that!" Victor defended himself, carefully to not raise his voice. The students started crowding the corridor outside and he didn't want anybody to overhear them.

"Actually I'm not concerned about your sudden violent act." Sam continued. "I was surprised that the first thing you did was to make out with me. When I resisted you forced me." She stopped to take a deep breath. "You said we were friends and at the first opportunity you try to get into my pants!"

"I told you-"

"Did you ever think about that before? You know… when I naively trusted you could see me as a friend like Tucker and Danny did?"

"Danny never wanted to be just your friend." Victor spat. "I always thought you were pretty and I always wanted to kiss you. Is that a crime?"

"It is a crime when you force it on me when I'm vulnerable." Sam said, finishing her argument.

"Oh fine. What do we do now?" Victor said, sighing and brushing his hands nervously through his hair. He admitted he was a jerk, but he didn't want to stop being friends with her. She had by far being the best girl he had ever known. "Are you going to take this to court? Are you going to put a restraining order on me?"

"No…" Sam said quietly. "I was planning on letting it just between us. I want to avoid a scandal. I was just going to make you agree to never come close to me again."

"Yeah…" Victor whispered to himself, almost breaking down in tears. "I was a jerk and I deserve it. Actually I deserve much worse from you. I can't even ask forgiveness because what I've done was unforgivable."

"I've forgiven you enough to not turn you in." She replied. "Just please don't talk to me again." And when she was finished he nodded and they stared at each other in silence for a few minutes.

"What are we going to do about the performance?" He asked quietly, uncovering his guitar.

"We can play and sing like we rehearsed. But this is going to be the last time."

"All right. I agree." The classroom door opened and a bunch of students came inside carrying their own instruments. Sam got distracted by them and Victor took the opportunity to take her hand in his, making her look at him with wide eyes full of fear. "I'm truly sorry." He said sincerely.

"So am I."

oOoOoOoOoOo

The plan was very simple. Tucker would just drop the CD with Sam's song in Danny's room while they hung out in case she couldn't deliver it herself. She had called a musical producer and asked for a quick help and with the right amount of cash he was very glad to help.

She recorded the song in the weekend with a retired singer that lived in town. She didn't want to approach Victor again and she avoided him as much as possible.

"You sneak into Danny's room and drop the CD there. Be careful for him to not see because he'll ask questions." Sam explained to Tucker when they met before classes started.

"Yes, I know." Tucker put the CD on his backpack carefully. "But you know I was wondering how can simple song soft Danny up enough for you guys to talk. You know he's clueless. What if he just listens to it like a normal song?"

"Well, I hope he at least recognizes my voice." Sam answered sarcastically. She sat down in a chair and rubbed her eyes, obviously tired. Tucker knelt down next to her and put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "I tried to compose the lyrics as a metaphor of what happened between Dan and me, at least the way I saw it, but the description of the guy in the song fits in Danny's. I hope he realizes that I saw Dan as a helpless fourteen years old trapped in a much older body. I hope Danny realizes that in the end I'm in love with him, it doesn't matter if he's younger or older."

"If you tried to say all that using metaphors he won't catch a single word of the song." Tucker teased. He suddenly frowned when Sam smiled up at him tiredly. "What's wrong with you? You look pale."

"Yeah…" Sam sighed and rubbed her eyes again. "I sort of have a confession to make."

"What is it?" Tucker asked worriedly. He feared that she was sick and that maybe he would have to carry her to the nurse's office.

"On the day Dan died we were together one last time." She bit her lip nervously, staring at Tucker's face who stared at her unbelievingly. "I stopped taking my birth control pills for months now and… well, when we did it I was about to take a morning after pill, but…"

"But? Holy crap…" Tucker's eyes were about to pop out of his face. He caught up with what she was trying to say before she even finished it. "You're pregnant with Dan's baby!" He sat on the floor heavily because his legs had gone weak. "Danny's going to lose his mind."

"No, Tuck, that's not it." Sam explained carefully. Her eyes filled up with tears and he sat there quietly, listening to her. "I didn't take the pill because I wanted to keep a part of Dan with me. I was late two weeks and I was so sure I was pregnant that it made me so happy." She wiped her tears and continued "But today when I woke up I had gotten my period, so… the symptoms are just my normal PMS, not pregnancy signs."

"Oh…" That was a very awkward situation for Tucker. He wasn't used to be talking with a girl about her period, not even Star had ever mentioned it to him. "So… you're not, right?"

"No." She answered sadly. "I just wanted to be, so badly."

"Hey, don't cry." Tucker reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "It's not like you can't keep a part of him. You said yourself you saw him as Danny. You don't have to keep anything to remind you of him because Danny will always be here. Get it?"

"Yeah, I get it…" She whispered quietly, giving Tucker a small smile.

"You will have another chance to have Danny's baby, just wait and you'll see." He grinned.

"Normally I'd have hit you for such perverted comment." Sam said in a mix of laugh and cry. "But I know you're right this time."

"Not just this time. I'm always right." Tucker laughed and helped her to her feet. "You still have your sister to practice for when it's your turn to have babies and I know you'll do a wonderful job."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sam was feeling a lot better when she found Danny that same afternoon. She had to deal with the horrible cramps, but emotionally she was much better.

Danny looked very pissed off, writing furiously on his notebook. He might be on the road to become evil, but he still was far from becoming a good student and making his homework. She let a small smile touch her lips at the usual sight; that made her gather her courage to sit down next to him, in the outside table far away from the other students.

Danny immediately lifted his red eyes to meet hers in annoyance. She bit her lower lip as she stared back for a few seconds. He was completely unreadable. There was no way she could see beforehand whatever move he was going to make and it scared her a bit, remembering to be very cautious with what she said to him.

"I'm sorry to intrude." She said quietly, offering a small smile that wasn't returned.

"Then just go. We have nothing to talk." He replied in an emotionless voice. At least he wasn't threatening her, yet.

"I wanted to explain to you my relation with Victor. You misunderstood what you saw-"

"I'm not mistaken, Samantha." Danny said, leaning towards her to speak in a low and deadly voice by her ear, making all hairs in the back of her neck stand up in a mix of fear and pleasure. "He wasn't the first and he won't be last."

"What are you talking about?" She whispered back with a wavering voice. She felt him smirk against her neck when he realized that she was just a scared sinful rabbit.

"I was too naïve to realize you were so found of guys. Elliot…" He lowered his head to press a kiss on her neck, making her tremble. "Alex…" Another kiss. "Maybe even Dash. You said he trapped you in an alley, but why should I believe you?" He was becoming angrier and angrier. He reached up his right hand to grip her hair firmly, to prevent her from moving her face away from his. "… in an alley, just like how I found you with Victor." He was quiet for a few seconds to give her time to reply, but she was too shocked to even move. "You seem to like dirty games against the wall, uh?" He chuckled silently and completed "And Clockwork said you were in danger… how silly of me to believe it."

"Clockwork?" She tried to move away to look into his eyes, but he held her tighter by the hair. Sam suddenly felt desperate to get away from him. She wished the students even far away from them would notice something strange happening and would come to her rescue. Ironically, someone did see them, but it was the only person that could make things worse.

"Danny! I can't believe you chose her over me even after you saw what she was up to in that club!" Valerie walked towards them with her hands on her hips, ready to teach both of them a lesson about humiliating her in public.

"Piss off, Valerie." Danny said through gritted teeth. He moved away from Sam's neck to stare at Valerie with such hate that she even stepped back, very intimidated.

"I demand answers. We didn't even have a proper break up!" She insisted and Sam realized that the fury that Danny was feeling suddenly was aimed at Valerie. He even relaxed his grip on her hair a little. It was her chance to escape.

While Danny was distracted, Sam pushed him away from her with all strength she had and he fell back on his butt, giving her enough time to run across the school grounds and to the streets.

When you run from a wild dog it will only chase after you and that's exactly what happened. Danny completely ignored Valerie and ran after Sam with an inhuman speed even if he still was in his human form. He didn't even think about his secret identity anymore.

Sam ran across the streets and avenues, bumping violently into people, phone booths and whatever she came across. She looked over her shoulder and only saw Danny getting closer. Her feet started hurting, but she couldn't stop. He had been her best friend and now she was afraid of him more than she had ever feared Dan.

How could she end in that situation when she was only trying to help him? She had been scared of Victor, but in the end it was Danny chasing after her like a madman. Was it too late to help him control his temper? Oh no, it wasn't. She was sure she could make him come to his right mind if only he stopped to listen to her. She had saved his older self who had been blind with rage much longer so it was possible to save Danny, too.

But first, she'd have to save her own neck.

In her rush, she didn't see where she was going and her feet automatically recognized the street she was running in and led her across the mall and into an old abandoned mansion. She dashed up the stairs, completely breathlessly and entered the first room she found with the door opened. It was the room she had had her lover in the dark.

She tried to calm her racing heart and tried to catch her breath, too. She was as silent as possible, while sitting with her back on the door, hoping Danny wouldn't find her there.

"Let's stop this game at once." Danny materialized right in front of her, in his ghost form. She couldn't run anymore. She was exhausted and she never could run or hide from a ghost. She just hoped he'd calm down too seeing that she wouldn't put up a fight.

Maybe if she let him do the talking, or even let him kiss her he would become gentle again just like he was when he took care of her on the day she found out that her lover was Dan. Maybe all it was required was for him to feel that she still needed him there.

"You like it rough don't you? You said so once and I've seen the bruises." Danny said in that same deadly voice sending chills all over Sam's body. She couldn't see much of him, just his silhouette, but she closed her eyes and turned her face to the opposite direction getting her strength to stand whatever was to come.

He grabbed her by the arm and not very carefully he guided her to the bed in the middle of the room. He climbed on top of her and pushed her legs apart with his knees. She bit her lip and didn't mutter a sound.

"I wish you wouldn't flirt with them. I wish there was only me." He whispered and thankfully Sam couldn't detect any sign that he was angry in his voice. There wasn't any sign that he was being kind, either but it was enough to make her wrap her arms around his neck hesitantly and hug him warmly.

"I told you once and I will repeat it: I never betrayed you, Danny, and I never will regardless what you believe." She felt a single tear drop on her cheek. Danny was still out of control, but he was crying.

"He held you like this, didn't he?" He asked, his voice was weak and it indicated that he was about to burst out in sobs, but he also pressed himself harder against her in a way that was at the same time intrusion and bliss.

"YOU held me like this and nobody else." She answered, reaching up and kissing his wet cheeks. She was winning that battle. She was making Danny listen to her. "Even if you see him as somebody else I was only with him because I saw YOU there all the time, just as desperate to be loved as you are now."

"You're lying." Danny said, finally letting himself cry freely, but his hold was still tight and bruising. "What about Alex? And Dash? And Victor? Did you see me in them, too?" He pinned her hands above her head to keep her from holding him again. "You like it in the dark, don't you? So you can fantasize about someone else, isn't it?!"

"You said you understood my reasons to be with him, to want to help him." She whispered sadly. Danny didn't answer her. "It's you that I adore. You're the one I've been dreaming of…" She said to herself, her voice was so quiet that he didn't hear her.

Danny didn't want to talk. He phased them both out of their clothes and not even his own sobs stopped him from doing what he wanted to. She didn't resist him either.

To Sam, it all was too confusing because she knew his every touch and every kiss, she knew he liked to hold her by the waist and that he liked to press lips together before entering her mouth. She kissed him back and when he stared down at her in confusion she reached up a hand to push his hair away from his forehead so she could lay a kiss there.

His intense stare didn't bother her. She embraced him with her arms and legs and reached up to kiss his lips. She saw that Danny's face was straighter than she remembered. It was a sign that he was growing up.

"You know…" She said quietly, finally feeling that she was safe to make conversation again. "I think I've just realized why Dan was changing and looking more like a human." She didn't wait for Danny to say anything and continued. "He _is _your _future_, not your alternative future. He changed because you changed your future. It's simple like that."

Her heart was swollen with joy. Even if Danny didn't believe her, she had saved his future! She had helped him change his tragic fate and would have another chance to grow up to be someone good. She had brought the lost boy back.

Danny stared down at her happy face in confusion. She wasn't supposed to look that happy while he tried to assault her like that.

Clockwork's words suddenly started buzzing around his mind. _"__There weren't many options to save her from heartbreak,"_ and _"You can't save her now."_ He realized what that what Clockwork said was true, that she would be raped to death and only Dan could stop it from happening because it was Danny who was going to do it.

He was going to kill his best friend and nobody was there to stop him because Dan had disappeared!

He sat up quickly, as if Sam burned him. She stared at him, puzzled. She tried to reach up for him, but he stood up and walked to the other side of the room where their clothes had landed and started dressing up. There was something in his mind screaming at him to go ahead and have his way with her because she would never be his if he didn't force her, but he strongly fought that desire.

"Danny…"

"Don't come any closer." He said, stepping back. "Don't come near me or I'll lose control of… this…"

"What are you talking about?" She asked, but she sat where she was. Was he actually fighting his temper? Was he winning over his jealousy?

"Stay away for a while, okay?" And then he flew away.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Tucker entered Danny's empty bedroom after school and dropped the CD on his night table with his other favorites. He waited for about fifty minutes for Danny to arrive so they could hang out like they usually did, but then Tucker gave up waiting and headed home, leaving the CD there hoping he would listen to it before he lost his mind.

The CD laid there for hours. The Sun set on the horizon, giving space to the Moon to come in. Only when it shone brightly in the middle of the sky Danny arrived in his bedroom, floating in from the window and changing back to his human form before he collapsed on his bed.

Sam's tears had been imprinted on his mind as he walked away, leaving her in that dusty room. How could he treat her like that? She was even willing to give herself to him, but little did she know that if he hadn't stopped himself she'd be dead by now. He'd lose control and she'd be forever gone.

There was still some nasty part of his mind saying that she had done it a million times with several guys already so it was his turn to lay a claim on her. Now torn between guilt and rage he felt completely lost and the only thing he was sure was that he had lost her forever.

How could he face her after what he had just tried to do? How could he risk standing in the same room as her without losing control and killing her?

And how could she lie to him saying that she had only been with his older self? How could she say that the only reason she had been with him was because she saw them as the same person! How could she defend that bastard and say he had been a victim of a series of misfortunate events? How could she love him so much?

Danny didn't even glance at his night table. He picked the first CD in the pile and stood up to put it in the stereo. He turned it on and lay back on his bed, waiting for a stressful hardcore rock to start playing.

Instead, he was very surprised when he heard a soft guitar playing some notes he had never heard before.

"_Oh where's the little black haired boy with shining eyes of blue_

_Where's the little black haired boy that bid my heart adieu_

_I wandered in the valley and swam across the sea_

_I prayed the good Lord's mercy would bring him back to me_

_Oh where's the little black haired boy with shining eyes of blue_

_Come home now little black haired boy my heart belongs to you_

_Be joyful little black haired girl your boy's not been untrue_

_Be joyful little black haired girl for since we bid adieu_

_I toiled in the valley and drowned beneath the sea_

_I prayed the good Lord's mercy redeem and rescue me_

_Be joyful little back haired girl your boy's not been untrue_

_For though my spirit's heaven bound my heart belongs to you_

_Oh where's the little black haired boy_

_Be joyful little black haired girl_

_Oh where's the little black haired boy."_

As the song ended, Danny's heart shattered in a million pieces just like the glasses on his window as he flew off to Sam's house.

**A/N - Yep! No baby! Who said I was going to become a good girl and make a happy sappy ending? LOL. There's still one more chapter to go and Danny and Sam will finally talk, but will she forgive him?**

**Oh and like I said some chapters before, the lyrics and the song belongs to Sam's voice actress Grey Delisle. **

Here are some review replies:

frumkin - **Ha! I hope you think it's better now. Lol, you didn't think I was going to make the ending that obvious when there were still two chapters to go, did you? I like twists and turns! I hope you liked this one. Even though it was written before your review, I dedicate this twist to you. ;)**

Amber-Phantom - **Don't pull your hair! I've updated!**

Froggy33856/blackrose33856 - **Yep, it was Victor. Who did you think it was? Some random guy?**

Ninaleoliona - **I'm so glad! Thank you so much!**

b4k4 ch4n - **wow, I love your reviews and the way you write them, it's almost like you're reflecting about it while you write. And yep, the lyrics are in the text. Like I said, it's a metaphor. Let's just hope Danny will get the message .**

mah - **Hello to you brazilian friend! I'm from Sao Paulo! Thank for the review! I'm glad I'm not the only brazilian Danny's fan who reads fanfic.**

hamanor12 - **really you didn't like TUE? I liked Dan a lot, but for things the episode didn't show. What exactly did you like about him in this fic? The fact that's I made him be a grown up Danny?**

Crazy Freckles - **I know! I yell at the TV and at the computer, too! Lol. But don't worry the mess will be completely solved and there will be no more headache.**

Japanese-Fanatic - **I've updated faster, like I promised! Lol.**

RedRoseRebel - **I'm glad you still like the story! I've updated as fast as I could.**

Kats02980416 - **That was an amazing review! I loved reading it, thanks! And now we're reading for the talk part, but I can't tell you if there will be reconciliation. Danny was kind of a jerk in this chapter, wasn't he? Just wait and see if Sam will forgive him. And again, thanks for you review, I loved it!**

fantasy phantom - **I think this site had a problem with story notifications for a few days, many people missed it. But I'm glad you could read it and see that indeed it was Victor. There will be some explanation on his part in the last chapter. Wait and see!**

Remember The Darkness - **I'm happy you think it's original, I tried my best. I never saw anyone writting Dan as a someone who had been Danny once. I felt a bit of angst for him when I saw the TUE, that's why I ended up thinking of this plotline. Thank you for sticking with the story to the end!  
**  
starrobin4eva - **I have a surprise for you, if you have nothing else to read after this story is done. I'm writting a new fanfic! That's why I'm in a hurry to finish posting this one, so I can work in the other exclusively! I hope you'll like that one. I'll post a teaser in the next chapter for you!**

Scarlett Ward - **wow I didn't you liked this story that much! I should update it more ofen then! Well, there's only one more chapter to go and I promise you it will be very special and make it easier to face Dan's departure. He was a nice guy in the end and he deserves some happy ending.**

Maguffin2 - **Yay! Thank you for reviewing!**

flarey phoenix - **Here's another chapter for you! I hope you're reading this while nobody is asleep so you can dance around the room like you wanted. Lol.**

Vampiressa Avril - **I hope you liked the song. Like I said it's a metaphor. I wrote the whole fanfic waiting to get to this song. It inspired to be stick with the plot!**

Rishi-Rishi - **yep! I'm 'cereal' about the two chapters. See? I've updated already! You didn't have to wait too long this time!**

cutereviewgirl - **My loyal reader. It's amazing how you manage to always write a cool review for me! I can't thank you enough for that. I've updated faster this time. So I hope you're happy with that. The last chapter will be up shortly, too.**

Kozumy Disgrace - **Lol, I'm going to make Victor suffer for what he did. I wish Sam's character would accept violece in this case, I'd love to write about her kicking his butt for what he did, but I'm trying to stay in character so I can't write that, lol. And thank you for liking this story so much and thank you for reviewing my other stories, too. I've read the reviews, but I couldn't reply properly. I just would like to tell you how much I apreciate them.**

luv2bamom - **Yay you're still reading this! I'm so glad! Actually, recently I've been wondering when you'll update your own story ****Love by Deception****. I'm a loyal reader!**

**So! There's one more chapter to go, guys! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and let's hear what you expect from the ending! I wanna know who I'm going to make happy and who I will disapoint, Lol. I'm feeling particularly evil today. Cya!**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

His head was spinning by the time he made it to her bedroom. He could barely control his body, which was shaking and weak. He could hear her sobbing and he also could see her curled up on her bed under her blankets.

His heart was aching badly as he set his feet on the floor. She didn't hear him. Something inside him was breaking at each sob of that lovely creature. She was alone. There was nobody to comfort her there. Unlike him who could always trust his parents and his sister, Sam was completely alone in her house.

He had a thousand thoughts running through his head and most of them made him realize what a jerk he had been. He couldn't understand how he could lose control to the point of almost hurting the only girl that he had ever truly loved.

He was ready to see her brush his hand off her as he tried to apologize. He could anticipate the dread and the expectation of her telling him to go home, that they weren't friends anymore. It would kill him to hear those words coming from her lips. He didn't think he could ever give her up that easily now that she had nested herself so deep inside his heart.

Danny peeked over the blankets and saw her staring at the half open door, not blinking. Her dark hair was wild covering the pillows and her shoulders. The moonlight bathed her half naked body, making the bruises he had left on her skin very visible. He had held her too violently and he had gripped her wrists too tightly. Her bra and panties were the only things that as keeping her decent.

_"This is Sam and you've called in a bad time. Leave your message after the beep."_ Her answer machine suddenly went off, startling him, but Sam didn't even move. She didn't realize he was in the room. To his despise, Victor's voice started talking on the phone.

_"Sam, pick up please."_ But Sam didn't move. She stopped sobbing to hear him, but she stubbornly kept her hands under the pillow. _"I wanted to say I'm sorry, please pick up."_ When she still didn't move, though her eyes were open, Danny wondered what Victor was apologizing for. _"Oh fine. Be that way. I'll say it anyway: I'm sorry for what I did that night. I was a jerk and I don't want to lose our friendship. I know I promised you I wouldn't talk to you anymore, but… I'm kinda hurting and I have to get it out of my chest. I'm truly sorry."_ He went quiet for a few moments, but he didn't hang up. Sam didn't move either. _"I wasn't in my right mind. I would never slap you, break your wrist or force myself on you if I wasn't incredibly high. I mean it."_

Whatever Victor said next before hanging up wasn't heard by Danny. What had just happened there? Did Victor do all that stuff he said? When was that? Why had Sam never said anything?

"Danny?" Sam's small voice surprised him out of his thoughts. He lifted his eyes to meet hers. She had stood up to erase Victor's message from her answer machine when she saw him there. "I thought you said you'd stay away." His stomach sunk at her words. Oh crap, she'd tell him to leave.

"I sort of…" He scratched the back of his neck nervously and Sam smiled to herself, recognizing his nervous tick. "I heard your song and…" He stopped once more and Sam saw that his eyes were green once more. It meant he was in control of his emotions again. "Do you really… want that black haired boy back?"

"It depends." She said sincerely. "Are you coming back to me, Danny?"

"Am I drowning beneath this sea?" He asked awkwardly, ignoring her question.

"No… you've just gotten your feet wet." She replied, giving him half a smile.

Finally, he understood things on her perspective. He finally understood that she had done all that because of him, it didn't matter his size or age. If he was in danger, she'd risk herself for him. If he needed love, she'd give it to him.

"I'm back to stay." He said, sitting down next to her in the bed and grasping her hands tightly. "I'm sorry for everything. For not believing you, for getting jealous as you tried to move on when I hurt you."

"I just tried to move on once and ironically I ran right into you." She gave him a shy smile. "I went out with Elliot, that's true, but that's was because you kept drooling over Valerie. I never felt a thing for him. He was cute and he was giving me all the attention. I was flattered, really." She explained. Danny opened his mouth to interrupt her, but she held his lips together with a finger. "I want to explain this and after I'm done I don't want you to doubt my loyalty to you ever again."

"Okay… go ahead." He said awkwardly, accidentally brushing his tongue on her finger.

"Then you started dating Valerie and I felt like the third wheel. I truly wanted to feel loved, I was desperate, really. Alex was my idol and he let me kiss him." She sighed, skipping the part when she'd mention that he died. "And Dash was suddenly after me and he trapped me in an alley and I have no idea what he had on his mind before you - I mean - Dan saved me."

Danny just stared at her, quietly, sitting up obediently like a trained dog. He had to admit that what she was saying made him slightly happier.

"I had a strange attraction to that man in the dark. He loved me without knowing me and at the same time it was extremely sexy to be with a stranger I felt like I knew him. I recognized him." Danny was going to ask how she recognized him if he was the one who had showed her his true identity by walking in on them, but he remembered to stay quiet and patiently hear her out.

"I didn't know it was Dan, but I knew he had some things in common with you and that's what made me go back to him every single day. He felt like you and it was the closest I could get from the real thing." She sighed and Danny felt a pang in his chest. "I thought I was moving on, instead I was only digging myself deeper."

"And then when I saw him everything fell in place and I stopped thinking about how I felt to think about how you- he felt. I really thought at that time you two were different people, being from different timelines but having the first fourteen years of your lives in common. I wanted to help him because of the little boy he had been, but then he changed gradually and became more like you."

"And then he went into hiding thinking I'd hate him for what he'd done – an attitude much like yours, mind you – and I had a plan to make him come back so we could talk and I'd set him free from all the hate he had felt in his life. In the Club, that night I was drunk and I made out with a guy thinking it would make him angry and he'd come to me demanding answers."

"It was…" Danny tried to interrupt, but he held his tongue again, realizing that listening to an explanation passively was much harder than he thought.

"I know now that it was Victor, but then I didn't. I got drunk to make it easier to get through my plan and suddenly there was a guy all over me. When I saw you fighting Valerie in the skies and you saw me I tried to stop him, but he insisted and when I pushed him away to run he slapped me and broke my wrist. He was really going to do something… unspeakable… that night."

"So… Victor tried to hurt you." Danny concluded. He stood up and walked to her dresser, looking at himself in the mirror. So Clockwork was talking about the incident with Victor and not about that same afternoon when he was about to lose control over her? "Do you know… why my older self escaped?" He suddenly asked.

"I thought he had just escaped;" Sam shrugged.

"Clockwork showed him your future. You'd be murdered after being raped." He heard Sam give an inaudible gasp, trying to not concern him. "I believe that's why he beat Dash then." 'And killed Alex.' Danny wanted to complete, but Sam didn't know the last part and she'd be better off not knowing. "I understand his attitude, really. I'd go around beating everyone who came close to you if I knew it as well. All I knew was that Clockwork forbade me to capture my older self before he disappeared by himself."

Sam closed her eyes and smiled at the bittersweet situation. So he had done that much evil to do something good in the end.

"So… if he wasn't there, Victor would probably have killed you." Danny felt his whole body shaking at the simple thought of losing her like that. When he had seen them together in the distance he had thought she was actually enjoying it. If only he hadn't been so foolish… "I didn't know about Victor." He returned to her side and sat down. "This afternoon I thought Dan had vanished before the right time and there was no one there to save you from _me_."

"Is that why you ran away like that?" Sam reached up a hand to stroke his hair, but Danny brushed her hand away before she could touch him, afraid of that small touch. "I'm not scared of you, Danny. I won't lie that you didn't hurt me, but I understand."

"What I've said… what I've thought about you..." He looked at his feet, shutting his eyes tightly.

"I know." She said quietly and somehow she felt it was very misplaced that she was the one comforting Danny when he was the one who had said and done terrible things to her. "Listen, Danny, there's something very important that I must say and I need you to listen to me carefully."

He slowly lifted his head to stare at her and Sam almost broke down crying at how sorry and lost he looked.

"There's something about your ghost half that you must understand. Even Vlad and Technus already alerted you for it, but we never took them seriously." Once more she reached up to touch him and this time he let her. "Your emotions are connected with your ghost powers and consequently to your sanity." When Danny didn't look like he was going to stop her she continued. "Every ghost has an obsession and as narcissist as it sounds, I came to the conclusion that you're developing your obsession with me."

"What?" He was obviously confused now.

"Just think about it, The Box Ghost is obsessed with boxes, Ember with music, Skulker with hunting and even Vlad, being a half ghost is obsessed with power. You, Danny, are gradually becoming obsessed, too."

"With you." He finished for her, understanding.

"That's what I think, I can be wrong." She added quickly. "You simply lost it when you thought I belonged to someone else."

"So, you're saying I need to be careful." He replied again, enjoying her hand on his hair. "I agree that I wasn't thinking clearly this afternoon. I was so angry…"

"Exactly. You must control that, but obviously you can't do it on your own." Sam explained as gently as she could. "You must promise to trust me. If you see anything, if you hear humors about me or whatever that makes you angry, you must promise me right now that you won't jump to conclusions and will come to me for answers."

"I'm not sure about this." Danny shook his head. "It sounds like you'd be in constant vigilance because I'm an idiot and could go crazy on you."

"This is the only way I know that we can stop you from going evil like your older self, like when he lost friends and family. The pain sometimes is so unbearable that it becomes hate and evil. I don't want you to become evil and I'll do everything I can to help you."

"I'm sorry…" Danny didn't know what else to say. He was so much trouble sometimes, but Sam said it all with a small smile on her face and seemed to have already accepted the situation.

"Don't be sorry about things you can't control." She finally said. She stood up and offered him a hand to help him up, too. "We will work this out like we've always had. That's what buddies are for, right?" She smiled and Danny felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

Yeah, in the end, Sam was right. If they were together they could make it through everything. With her there he would have extra strength and motivation to fight. He could go back being the town hero without worrying if she was off dating someone.

That was the only thing that was making him a bit uneasy. It seemed like she had made a devotion pact to him. She wouldn't do anything that would make him angry and that included dating. She had just caged herself because of his jealously. It didn't seem fair.

"And now I'm having some urges for something sweet. Would you like to help me bake a chocolate cake?" Sam turned around, putting on a huge shirt and left the room, waiting for him to follow her down the kitchen, which he did very obediently. "Today is James' day off, so I can't ask him to bake it for me and the cook already left."

"I will help you." He grinned to her and when she turned around the grin faded in a sad smile. He watched her as she picked the ingredients and placed them at the table, humming the song she had composed for him. She had gone through so much trouble and how had he paid her back? Only with more problems.

"Sammy…" He walked closer to her, watching as she busied herself with her back turned to him. He gently placed both his hands on her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. She immediately stopped working on the cake and the song died in her throat. "I think I love you." He said sincerely, holding her tenderly.

"I've always loved you." She said quietly and for a second or two they both stood there in silence, waiting for the right moment to say something else. "But I think we should wait. I'm still sensitive about… everything."

"I just wanted you to know." He placed a soft kiss on her vanilla scented hair.

"Do you…" She started saying, but her voice trailed off when she felt Danny's hands working its way to her stomach. When his hands stopped moving again she continued. "Do you see us several years from now?"

"I've never thought about it, but…" He grinned, placing a kiss on her temple. "I see us married with a bunch of half ghost kids destroying the house."

"We better have well paying jobs if we're going to raise half ghost children." She joked and at that same moment Lizzy started crying in her room. "And you better start practicing." She added and Danny went intangible, floating off to the second floor to pick up the baby.

"I'm sorry." Danny suddenly said, startling Sam. She turned around having no idea how he had returned to the kitchen so quickly after making Lizzy stop crying. "I can't help it." He said and when she opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about he bent down and captured her lips in a sweet kiss.

She had waited for that kiss since she was fourteen. The sweetness, the tenderness and everything he was offering her by that simple touch. He truly loved her.

Even if she had asked to take it slow, she enjoyed that kiss like it was her first.

Through that kiss she understood how desperate Danny had been since she started seeing someone. How much he loved her even when he was dating Valerie.

"I've wanted to do this forever." He said, not parting their lips.

Sam didn't say anything he just let him kiss her and enjoyed it like no other kiss. She was very glad that she hadn't lost him. She was glad that he hadn't turned evil and at that moment she knew that whatever happened she'd have the strength to face everything in the world to keep Danny from suffering Dan's fate. She had a chance to make it right with him; she wouldn't lose him again.

"I'm sorry you're stuck with me." He said, letting the passion slowly die.

"I'm not sorry." Sam answered, letting go of his lips and sinking into his warm embrace. "I'm glad you need me."

Maybe it began with her feeling the third wheel and unnecessary to their ghost hunting group. Both of them had gotten sidetracked but in the end they found their way back to each other. She would never let go of him because he would be there in every embrace, every kiss.

She snuggled closer to him, getting more comfortable in his teenager arms. Eventually those arms would grow stronger into the ones she was used to, but the hug would be the same. Danny would need all the help she could provide to grow up to the great hero he was supposed to be.

The End.

**Author's Note: I can't believe it's over! ****It took forever! I enjoyed this fic a lot and I'm sorry to see it go, but I'm kinda proud of this one more than the others. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed this fanfic. You've been the best inspiration I could have.**

**I have another fanfic in the oven almost ready, BUT I have bad news: I've got a job as a producer assistant in TV commercials and I've been filming every week. That means it will take forever for me to be able to update my next stories, but I'll keep writing them as long as I have fingers and a computer. **

**Anyway, thank you for your patience, for your support and for being so lovely to me even if my English still kinda sucks. I can't thank you guys enough. **

**My next story is called The Noir Style and the first chapter is already up. It's a very unusual DxS story.**

**Thanks!**


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